Who's Really the BOSS?

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Rachel Dillon: Welcome to Who's Really the Boss podcast. I'm Rachel Dillon, and along with my husband, Marcus Dillon, we share the joys and challenges of leading a $3 million accounting firm together. From team structure to growth strategies, we share our leadership successes and failures so you can avoid the mistakes we have made and grow a valuable accounting firm. Welcome back [00:00:30] to Who's Really the Boss podcast.

Marcus Dillon: Hey, thanks for having me back.

Rachel Dillon: It is definitely well into the new year already. Um, but we are recording this right here at the beginning, and so we need to for sure give an update on the girls as 2025 is kicking off.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So made it back from New York. And, um, you know, there was some questionable weather while we were there. We had to do some walking in the rain, but everybody made it back. [00:01:00] Girls are healthy. I'm back. Healthy. I got sick right after New York. Um, but yeah, the girls are. I don't know whether they're ready or yet, but they're embracing things in the new year. So Avery obviously has, uh, her senior year of swim that she's wrapping up for high school. And so later this week, we've got senior night and all the fun stuff there. Uh, she also had a pretty big swim meet in December. So she's still just swimming. Uh, and then [00:01:30] Kinley, our oldest, who's a sophomore at Baylor. Um, she's about to go through rush for, uh, Greek life, and, uh, they do a spring rush at Baylor, and she was not able to do it last year because she transferred in. So it's been a year of anticipation for her to do everything that's rush. And you and I have no idea what that entails, because you and I were not, um, Greek, you know, in college. So.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So, um. [00:02:00] Yeah, with that, new York was amazing. It was cold and rainy, and we still had a great time. And we still spent the majority of every single day while we were there outside. As you mentioned, Avery swim, we did have to find her a pool to train in while we were there on vacation. So that cut into just a little bit of our plans, but mostly we were able to do that either later at night or very early in the morning. Um, [00:02:30] so it didn't really mess up any things that were pre-scheduled before we got there, but, um, that's fun. And then, yes, Kenley will be very excited to know which, um, sorority she gets a bid to, I guess. And that's something that we're looking forward to, that we get to watch all of that unfold, even though I think I've been warned that it's like, almost like momentary. And so we drive there and watch. [00:03:00] And then she'll be busy with her friends after that. So it's, it's really just to see and experience the excitement in person. Not really anything to do or that she'll be devoting any time to spend with the people who are not in her new sorority.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So that'll that'll be fun. Um, new chapter of life for her and for us to experience all of that goes that goes along with, um, she's pretty much been an unofficial member of a sorority there for [00:03:30] a year. It seems like because all of her friends are in one. So hopefully that all works out and we'll update people on the other side of it.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So the girls are looking forward to things celebrating Senior Night, starting hopefully in a new sorority. We are looking forward to a lot of things this year. Um, but one specifically coming up that we are both looking forward to and our Dylan Business Advisors team is looking forward to. Our collective by DBA team [00:04:00] is looking forward to is an in-person event in The Woodlands, and that is going to be on Cinco de Mayo or May 5th and sixth. And so that sign up is actually going to open up on January 28th. So depending on when you're listening to this and if it's still in the year or still in the timeframe, that is a members only event. So make sure that you are a member of collective so that you're able to register and join us in [00:04:30] person for two amazing days. The agenda and um, kind of full list of speakers and all of the events surrounding that will be released on January 21st and then registration will open up on January 28th.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So really looking forward to that. There's 50 seats in the room for that event for firm owners or firm leaders. Uh, if it's anything like our event last May, it'll sell out pretty quick. And the fact [00:05:00] that it's just members only, uh, will be good. So we can plan the best event possible for those members. Uh, the other cool thing is there will be a third day. If you're in a forum or you're an advisory client of collective, and that third day is just for forum members and advisory, because that's the other piece, like the the forums that are currently meeting. There's four mastermind groups or forums that are meeting as of today, and they love to get together with their forum, uh, [00:05:30] you know, members and giving them an opportunity to do that, walking them through some special curriculum on that day alone will be a kind of a fun way to end the event on, uh, on on May 7th. So looking forward to that a lot.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So that's awesome. Again, if you need more information on that, feel free to email me. You can visit the collective CPA website to get more information on how to either get in contact with me, or how to become a member of the collective [00:06:00] or sign up. So excited about that event. Now, our first podcast of the year was not on the typical goals or resolutions. Um, healthy habits, nothing like that. However, this one might be. So we'll start with Marcus. Are you a New Year's Resolution type of guy?

Marcus Dillon: I just do not like January at all. So I, [00:06:30] I just once it's February, once it's March I'm kind of into a groove. February. January. I just can't find footing. And I think it's a lot of us that grew up in accounting. We always dread January and starting the year new. And, um, you know, obviously starting with a clean PNL. Personnel. So that's also a hard thing. Like you have no longer the success from last year to celebrate in January. So I am not a resolution guy, um, per [00:07:00] se. I like setting goals and getting on my way, meeting those goals and using KPIs to track those goals and all that. But I am not a resolution guy, um, in the sense of like setting and then trying to stick with something throughout the year.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: Fun fact I'm not a resolution type person. I don't think, um, either. However, way back and I don't think this was really a maybe it was a resolution, but it was it was more of a goal. I would say, uh, [00:07:30] way back in January of 2010, I started going, I decided with a friend that we were going to start working out in the mornings, specifically lifting weights. And we are now in 2025, and I have been working out in the morning, specifically lifting weights for the last 15 years. So maybe one time I was a resolution person, I don't know, I don't like change. So I think once I get [00:08:00] a routine, once I can start a routine, I can pretty much stick with it. Um, as long as a few things are in place, I guess.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I think the like the pain of staying the same is usually has to be really painful for me to then, you know, set out a resolution of change. Um, or then I'm going to add something new in I really like the life that we've built, you know, especially towards the end of the year when you have a lot of success [00:08:30] to celebrate and, uh, you met your goals, or you're just within striking distance of your goals. And then all of a sudden on January 1st, the clock resets. And that's a hard thing for me. So, uh, it's good that your, Were a 15 year journey started back in 2010. I think that's good. Maybe the friend that you were doing that with, had she, maybe she was more of a resolution person and just brought you with you on that journey. But um, but yeah, for for me, I [00:09:00] have no resolutions, uh, going into 2025. There's some things, goal wise, that I know I need to pay attention to and then start doing in 2025 if we want to meet those goals. But just, you know, I think the the resolution that's hard for me. And it sounds like it's hard for you as well.

Rachel Dillon: So I think at this point I probably use the word resolution and goals at the beginning of the year interchangeably. [00:09:30] Um, but honestly, I feel like we are more of goal people where we kind of set like a timeline and some measurable, uh, tracking of that goal, some way to measure it, some way to track it to where we actually break it down into like daily or weekly habits that need to happen and can just execute that way versus like, I want to change into a better person, not really knowing what that means or looks like. But [00:10:00] I have heard multiple times I don't know which podcast I listen to or commercial that's popping up and telling me this, but I keep hearing that Quitters Day is the second Friday in January. Um, and so I was thinking about that and I'm like, okay, well, what's the second most popular? Because I feel like in January is easier of a month to make changes, because whether you have personal accountability or just a communal sense of accountability, [00:10:30] a lot of people are making changes that may be similar to what you are trying to do. So I looked up the second most popular day that resolutions End from the beginning of the year, and I came upon a Forbes study from 2024.

Rachel Dillon: And it found that about 50% of people last the first three months of the year, um, which I. Found particularly [00:11:00] interesting for our industry. Um, the industry of accounting. Because really, if chaos is going to ensue or at least feel like chaos is ensuing. Likely that's going to happen near the end of March. And what I think has happened to us. In past, you know, times or to a lot of people, this might sound familiar, but you think I just need to get through the next [00:11:30] 2 or 3 weeks. I just need to get through the deadline. And really, you just let everything that you started maybe in January and through February. You just let it go and it's very hard. Then after the 15th, you want to celebrate. After April 15th, you want to celebrate your hard work and your achievements. Um, you want to rest because likely you've put in extra time and it's really hard to pick back up maybe [00:12:00] where you left off, um, at that end of March time period.

Marcus Dillon: So what you're saying is, if you're an accountant and you make it past January 10th this year, right, because that's the second Friday of are we or are we going one more January 17th?

Rachel Dillon: No. Like January 10th.

Marcus Dillon: January 10th. So January 10th is the first, uh, kind of hurdle that you live through. Uh, then studies show that you could potentially [00:12:30] make it all the way to the end of March and keep things dialed in, keep things on track. But then if you're an accountant, also, you've got April 15th where you want to let your hair your hair down. Celebrate everything like that, uh, goes along with keeping those resolutions is even harder for accounting firm leaders after April 15th.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, I think it is. And so on this episode, I'd really like us to talk through maybe some of the goals, just in case. People [00:13:00] are kind of like us and like I'm not a resolution person, but there are some things I would like to do. Um, I just don't know that maybe they just don't want to tie them necessarily to January, because the chances or the likelihood of them actually carrying them out long term maybe feel slim just because so many people quit their resolutions in January. Um, so let's talk through goals and then definitely on the next episode, I really want to talk through some things that have made it easier [00:13:30] for us to stick to, um, those goals. So this one, let's talk through goals. Goals that we've set in the firm and then we can even talk through personal goals. And the bigger part, Marcus, that I really want us to hit on is what we do. For example, I've been working out early in the morning for 15 years. How to keep going even when you don't feel like it. So those are kind of the things that I'd love us to get through today on this episode. Yeah. [00:14:00]

Marcus Dillon: So it's really easy because we just talked about the firm goals with the team during December. So we've set out some obviously DBA specific goals. Um, those are somewhat, I guess, easier to track and monitor and discuss because we're holding others are holding us accountable on the leadership team. Um, we're kind of discussing those throughout different meetings that we have with [00:14:30] team members and, you know, just one on ones. Uh, as far as accountability to make sure that we're individually doing things that that go towards, um, success with those groups. So you want to give a rundown of some of those goals that we've set for 2025.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So one of the main goals that we've set for 2025 is looking at new clients. So new client acquisition and the one that we've set [00:15:00] for organic new clients, meaning that those clients come in through us either through referrals, through our website, through, um, you know, marketing efforts on our side. We've set 15 new clients for the year, and those are 15 monthly recurring clients that are on one of our three packages that includes bookkeeping, um, tax and advisory. There are some additional things that can go into those, but those are the three core areas [00:15:30] that we serve clients with a 2000 or higher price point per month just because our middle package is a quarterly advisory service. And it starts at 2000. And then payroll sales tax, additional entities, those types of things would increase that average price. So 15 organic new clients um per month per year for the year. And then we do divide that out for the team quarterly. What [00:16:00] that could look like. However, being that it's kind of organic growth, we can't really determine or set that. Now, what we do hold out to our team is that we only do, um, two onboardings per month. Um, but that also has some nuance because that since the team of three now helps to onboard those clients, that's really just kind of like no more than two per pod. So we could we could easily work in [00:16:30] more than two. Whereas Previously in previous years, when it was one person or two people doing onboardings, that would have been hard for them to do more than two at a time.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, and those 15 new clients at $2,000 a month. What that would do from an MRR standpoint, if you're able to do math, that's about $30,000 of MRR that's been built throughout the year, because obviously those full those 30 don't just drop in January. [00:17:00] Hopefully they're they're kind of one and um, onboarded evenly throughout the year. So that would get us above the 200,000 MRR, uh, amount that we've kind of been striving towards for the last few years. I think 200,000 of monthly recurring revenue really allows you to do a lot of great things and fill out budgets, and that's just kind of where we are in our firm today. Obviously, to make up the room, we have a we have some other annual recurring revenue [00:17:30] that obviously is not earned in invoiced or ACH monthly, but hitting that 200,000 kind of helps us get to that, that watermark where we're achieving a lot of different things on a monthly basis. So that's part of the reason why we set out that goal. Um, I think you you mentioned that we break it down, uh, and share, you know, that with the team. So obviously with organic, you can't really drive when the [00:18:00] prospect will sign and convert to a client. But we can control the the inputs or the effort that we're doing to get prospects or get prospects in. And so let's talk a little bit about what we started in January as far as trying to either supplement what we were already doing or um, being a little bit more disciplined to start organic growth on the right foot.

Rachel Dillon: So with that, we Are [00:18:30] kind of reevaluating the back end of our website. So we have we have a lot of content on social media and content on our website, but wanted to make sure that prospects are able to find our website or that our rankings are still doing okay. So we are looking at some technical kind of back end SEO help, not so much geared around content yet, potentially that will [00:19:00] come down, but right here in January looking at different things with coding and page development and certain things still of course, keyword research and that. But looking at some very specific things to do with our website so that we can continue to attract prospects online that way so that they are coming into us and less of us having to go out and get them.

Marcus Dillon: Was there anything throughout that process with [00:19:30] identifying the new company through the audit they did that you learned that maybe helped other people to what they should look for when they're thinking about organic growth.

Rachel Dillon: I think our eyes were open to a lot of different options or alternatives, and definitely key areas that we needed to look at. Some of them are above my pay grade that it's hard for me to even describe. Marcus, you probably know or can remember even better than me on those if there are specific [00:20:00] things that you wanted to share, but it was definitely different. The audit that was done used different tools and looked at different things than some of the other people that we had talked to from, let's say, an SEO or marketing standpoint previously. And so I think that that gives me some confidence that we will see some different trends on, um, Just rankings and traffic to our [00:20:30] website.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I think, uh, part of it was and we're guilty of it, like when you get cute around keywords or how you want to develop phrases or own certain language, uh, even how you think about, like team of three and client service manager or client controller. That may not be what the general public is searching for. And so as we're trying to hit those goals for 2025, and in order to do that, we have to have a really good pipeline of prospects [00:21:00] that are looking for services like we do. So where we've tried to elevate others and, you know, use the term CSM or client service manager, a general public may be trying to just enter in bookkeeping or accountant or tax projects for different things that your business may do DBA does as part of our full service engagements. But the general public, the Republic. The prospect that we're trying to get eyes on, um, doesn't [00:21:30] know that's what we do. So it's like trying to not be as cute with some other words, I think was what we learned in that process.

Marcus Dillon: Um, and just hopefully that translates. And, um, makes the pipeline of prospects a little bit more than it was, uh, before we engaged this company. So that's something we learned. Um, like you said, the other stuff is probably even above my pay grade as well. But when we kind of sit down and [00:22:00] see results, um, just like with anything you're tracking and these goals, uh, we're going to be sitting down on a monthly basis with that team to make sure that, hey, here's where we started. Here was the baseline at the beginning of the year, and here's where improvement is. Here's where we're not improving as much as we thought, and here's what we need to do to modify that. So this is just an example of like how we are going to monitor that goal throughout the year with somebody else to kind of help keep us accountable [00:22:30] so that we can ultimately hit that goal at the end of the year. So breaking it down into small pieces is, is what we're trying to do, even when it comes to this.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely. And so we started with growth. We talked about organic growth with 15 new clients. Um, we also are and have shared with our team as well. But exploring a non organic firm acquisition. So exploring opportunities of what that might look like in 2025. So that would be [00:23:00] an ongoing. Um again we break these down by quarter for our team to see and to help work towards. Um, but that one definitely is going to be on ongoing until the right, um, opportunity becomes available.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And what we've talked about there is, um, obviously I was listening to a podcast today and it talked about, you know, a conversation that was that was happening within chick fil A and Truett Cathy and, you know, the leaders of the business at that time were really pushing him to grow the business [00:23:30] bigger. And his response was, you do great things for people, and then they drive how big your business is going to be. So I think, you know, you apply that to DBA and collective and other businesses. Um, and you know, by continuing to do good work and serve, um, clients well and make it a great place for a team, the market will let us know how big we should get to. Um, but as good stewards of this business, we're also trying to [00:24:00] do everything in our power to provide opportunity for team members to continue to advance within DBA and give them opportunities to, you know, stay here as long as they, um, they can versus seek opportunity outside of DBA. So whenever you think like, why are why are you looking at a mix of organic and inorganic. It's to supplement that organic growth that really is there to tell. So the market tells us how big we should be, but then [00:24:30] continue to provide opportunity for existing DBA team members so that they can grow in their career and in their knowledge.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So another area we look at within Dillon Business Advisors for goals is process, goals process. We kind of put in both technology and processes. Both of those fall into that bucket. So definitely doing a technology assessment and which I [00:25:00] did skip over with our growth is not only about clients but also team members. And so we have some new team member hires that we would like to make this year. Again. We put those out. And so a new client service manager assistant that we fill with Toa, the outsourced accountant. So we are actively seeking a new candidate with Toa. Um, and then also interviewing for a controller position. [00:25:30] And so those are two that were in our plans or our goals for the year. Um, with our process goals, assessing technology and then implementing additional features of software that we already use like keeper, and adding automations to our onboarding process, which we've shared with our collective community. We've shared out parts of that and webinars of that [00:26:00] with just the public. So if client onboarding is something that that listeners are interested in, uh, that is available, um, in the community, or you can message me if you aren't sure where to find that, but definitely, um, looking at automating some pieces of that process now that it's working really well.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And I think we touched on this previously that how we've identified that we want to go deeper with our core programs that are within our stack. [00:26:30] And um, part of staying accountable to that is actually turning off other programs that you're not currently investing in or, um, testing, uh, as far as experiments go. And, you know, even at the beginning of the new year, it provides a great time to do that, uh, to turn some things off, because then if you're going to want to turn them on again whenever you go back into that experiment season, maybe after tax season, as you're evaluating softwares, um, [00:27:00] you have additional budget to do that because you haven't burned through some of the technology budget on things you're not actively testing or using. So, um, how we've broken out, like those process goals and even some of the softwares that we're looking at is the same way. We're breaking it down. This is the annual goal. This is what it looks like on a quarterly basis. You also have to take that into account with other things that are going on in life and in business, to make sure that it is realistic that those are aligning [00:27:30] in the certain quarter that they are. So I think we've already gotten off to a really good start, um, by some of those goals. So I'll say that we're winning on those, um, in the sense where we've turned off some softwares that we're not fully using, but then also we're well on our way with elevating team members to start doing some testing on automations, bring in the right team members, um, to the table to do those testing, and then checking in with them on a [00:28:00] weekly, bi weekly, monthly basis to see how those are progressing or if if you don't do that, if you aren't touching base with them that often life happens, you know, just the regular business, uh, tasks that go Into running a small business, you know, take precedent over the goals of process improvement and automation.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So what reminded me of our growth in our people as well? Uh, it was the technology [00:28:30] assessment piece. And so that's a technology from a what do we have. What do we need? What are we not using? What can we use better. Um, but also a technology support standpoint looking at that as well. And is that relationship going well? Are there challenges with um, our IT team, our outsourced IT team and what does that look like and what does it look like if we were to [00:29:00] acquire or merge with another firm, if we were to hire additional team members or having additional No offshore team members. Like, what do all of those things look like? And so that is what is part of that technology assessment. And through that, um, an opportunity came to light, I guess, of having the option to add an additional person who wasn't [00:29:30] necessarily in the goal plan that we had set out and shared with the team in December.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And so you're talking about our director of technology, Angel, who, uh, is our most recent hire, uh, to start 2025. And Angel, uh, he's a friend. Um, and he was a previous vendor. Uh, so he used to serve DBA back in the day when he owned his own, uh, MSP or IT company. [00:30:00] Uh, that DBA was a client of. And then they sold that business. He went to work inside the acquirer of that business and then is now became available to be to be a part of the team at DBA and help DBA and collective do great things. On the other side of him coming on board. So we are super excited about Angel. Um, but to your point, his first like task is, uh, technology assessment. So we use a third party, um, to [00:30:30] kind of help with outsourced it. And he's putting together the different pieces that allow for us to have an assessment of how well is that company really doing. And so once we're able to do that, then our growth, both from a client perspective and a team perspective, will feel a little bit more confident in, um, that we can grow without some of those questions, um, that we had from a support standpoint, because Angel will be in place. [00:31:00] And so that technology assessment that he's doing, uh, for DBA, then we're going to share a lot of that within collective. Right. And so, uh, What questions can you be asking of your third party providers? What should you be looking at as the owner of your business when it comes to technology? And how do you just stay in tune? Or are you just okay fully relying on that third party that you've engaged? So that'll be a process.

Marcus Dillon: That's one that wasn't on the bingo card to really [00:31:30] finish 2024, but it was an opportunity that came up. And Angel will be a core part of DBA and collective and maybe some future business opportunities that exist going forward. So I think that's, uh, that's a great segue into how we really build upon and monitor the success of these 2025 goals. If we get a quarter in and we haven't touched one of these goals, or it became evident [00:32:00] that it wasn't a priority for 2025. How do you suggest we Assess that goal that we set at the end of 2024 that we thought was going to be a priority for 2025, but we didn't touch it in Q1 at all. How do you reassess whether that's a legitimate goal or not? Because we know that you have the first Friday in January or second Friday in January, March 31st, April 15th, and is it okay to then start working on those goals [00:32:30] after April 15th, or should we just reset and really redetermine goals for the remainder of 2025 at that point?

Rachel Dillon: We usually look at our goals again during our mid-year retreat. So somewhere in between May and June we are going to reassess as a full team the goals, our progress and the direction that we need to continue for the rest of the year to get to April 15th and say, [00:33:00] I haven't started on these. I'm just scrapping it. That's kind of crazy. There is a lot of months before the year ends to just give up on something because you didn't get started on January 1st or January 6th. And so, um, for us, what we do is we actually take our goals. They are written down. So our we call them objectives because we break these down more by role in the firm for specific goals, um, like weekly or daily [00:33:30] habits that we need to be doing to meet these, uh, but we put these objectives in our agenda, our weekly team meeting agenda, and our weekly lead team meeting agenda. So we're actually looking at these on a weekly basis and can decide when is the appropriate time within the quarter to address and also to adjust. And so if we're nearing the end of the quarter, we've we've been looking at it. And while yes, we can always push [00:34:00] it forward to the next quarter, if it wasn't supposed to be there to continue working on it. Um, or we can look at is it still necessary and in line with the direction that we want to move? And so I think that's the biggest thing is one that you're looking at it so that it's visible pretty much at all times, that there is more than one person responsible, so that there is some accountability there and [00:34:30] that you are flexible if it no longer fits the direction that you want to go, or is no longer going to be beneficial to the team or the business as a whole, then it's fine to to scrap it and put one in. That would make more sense.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, and it's just reprioritize as well. So maybe it's moving some around. Um, you know, maybe something happened in the first quarter that you have to address the remainder of the year as far as a staffing [00:35:00] or a client, um, need that came up. So I like the fact that, you know, even the event that we'll be having in The Woodlands in May kind of may provide a really good reset for somebody to kind of go forward and assess where they are, where they are as of today, but then also build upon that for, you know, the rest of 2025. So I like that. That's, uh, part of the goal, uh, for that time of year and especially after people have a few [00:35:30] weeks off after something like a tax deadline, it's usually a good, uh, mindset to be able to do that. So, um, so that's I think we covered most of Dba's goals for 2025. There may be some other ones that pop up on the bingo card, but you're saying we actually did not include one of them so far, right?

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So we have just another area. So growth process, team development. Um, and then we also share collected by DBA within Dillon Business Advisors [00:36:00] because we all contribute. But team development is really kind of our final core. Dillon Business Advisors, um, area for goal setting. And that looks like one that we actually did in 2024 and are putting it back on those objectives for 25 to make sure that it continues to happen and that we continue to improve in that area. So monthly training by role, meaning our client service managers meet at least once a month to do [00:36:30] dedicated training and communication between the client service managers as well as controllers do the same thing. So instead of a team meeting once a month, our client service managers and our client controllers meet together with each other but as separate groups to do specific training related to their role and then specific um, communication and collaboration specific to their role is what that time is used for. And then we also [00:37:00] created another subject matter expert position to start in 2025, which is our Qbo SME. And so currently we have a payroll SME. We have a tax SME. And now we will have a Qbo SME which all of those people, one of their main jobs is to not delete, but read the update emails that come into their inbox, potentially sign up for [00:37:30] the webinars or things that trainings that are offered related to, um, I guess to that either category or technology that we use to support that area.

Rachel Dillon: And then as well to be available to the team, they don't have to know every single thing. They don't have to be a so-called expert, though I think ours are experts in those areas. They don't have to be a self-proclaimed expert. Right? Um, they just have to be willing to help find the answer, and someone [00:38:00] that other team members could go to first if they're having trouble. And so that just makes it very nice for the team where the team knows when I go to this person, likely they will have an answer for me. And if they don't, they will help me find it. I don't have to tap someone else, um, get them involved, and then maybe they couldn't help me. Or maybe they weren't available. Our SMEs make themselves available, um, as part of that position.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. [00:38:30] And so those weren't, uh, new goals by any means, as you pointed out. But they're just something that we wanted to double down on in 2025. Right. And so I think, uh, because those did come on into in 2024 and they were met in 2024. That also kind of goes hand in hand with any other goals that are on the kind of radar and met. You can actually kind of reinstall those for the new year if you do want to go [00:39:00] deeper.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So we talked about, you know, what about on the days that you don't feel like. Looking at those goals. Um, continuing on with those goals, even though they are good for the business and the team, maybe you are as an individual are just tired or don't feel equipped to be able to handle it on your own. Um, I think that there's a few things, [00:39:30] but I guess let's talk through what are some things that we do to make these easier to stick with?

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I think the first thing we've already talked through is like you break them down into smaller bite size pieces. So it doesn't seem so overwhelming because let's take the 30, uh, $30,000, 15 new clients. If we were trying to go out and get that in January, that would be a be a significant undertaking. Like, where are you going to find a $30,000 a month client? You're probably not [00:40:00] unless they were in the pipeline to begin with and then onboarding that client. All the man just there would be a lot of things to have to think through. Um, so breaking it down is how we've done it. And then everybody's going to have good days. Everybody's going to have bad days. Hopefully you have more good days than bad. If that goal just doesn't align with personality, maybe there's somebody else on the team that is better equipped to have that goal, especially as it relates to [00:40:30] new business, business development. Uh, we've talked through this a lot, especially in like our business with how technical accounting can be and tax and, um, you know, you get to a certain point in your career and then you're expected to sell. And that may not always be the best case. And especially when it comes to something like a goal around new clients, you do have to ask is, is that the best person to be having those conversations, to be driving that division, to [00:41:00] be doing that goal? So so that could be a bigger question. And then when when days get tough, I mean, you have to fill your your energy bank with something that gives you life. So maybe that is you're working out. Maybe it's eating right. Maybe it's some type of sweet treat to get you through your day, to make sure that you do incentivize yourself to keep going. So there's a lot of different mind games that I know I play with myself. Uh, do you have any [00:41:30] that stick out for what you do?

Rachel Dillon: I think definitely what we've done kind of as a team is not keep those just individual for me or you or just the two of us. So we've included other people. We included the whole team. The whole team has that out in front of them and access to those. And then we went even further at the retreat and broke those down by each role. What are the tasks [00:42:00] and goals? What are the things that they can do every week to help us get to that goal, where no one person is carrying the full burden? I think on some of these, especially even the technology assessment, and then hiring Angel, if it's something that you don't feel comfortable or equipped, you may have to look outside of the firm to get either help executing or at least help with accountability on that. And so I think really setting up multiple systems [00:42:30] of accountability or just good systems in general, to make sure that things are happening on a daily or weekly basis to get you just a little closer to achieving that goal for the year versus, again, trying to do it all at one time. So whether you're trying to do it all at one time in the beginning, or you're pushing it off, thinking it's magically going to just start and then happen by the end of the year. Um, definitely [00:43:00] setting up those systems to make sure that it's happening. And a lot of times that comes around making sure that there are multiple kind of avenues of accountability.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And I think, um, I've done some work planning out 20, 25, uh, given an accountability partner I have. So having somebody that's there for you just kind of like we've, uh, done the team. But then also when you set goals, how do you make them measurable? That's a big thing that everybody needs to keep in mind. So I know [00:43:30] that you, uh, you met your goal of 2024 on the number of workouts that you wanted to achieve in 2024, and I think that was 300. Correct?

Rachel Dillon: It was 300. And so, um, the app that the app that I use to track. So first, that's the That's the first step of accountability, is that I actually have an app, it's free that I track through. And in 2023, as I was nearing the end of the year, I think I ended with 290 [00:44:00] something workouts, but I hadn't really set it as a goal. So for 2024, I thought, well, I should set 300 and pay attention to this because I don't pay for the app. I don't see my totals until they start trying to entice me to pay for it near the end of the year. And so I started seeing my totals in December and realized I had gotten off track. And majority of that was in November for a variety of reasons, but one being pretty sick. And so, um, [00:44:30] I was able to finish at 302, I believe is what I ended the year on. But it was all because of that accountability. Accountability because I could see then, um, somewhere around the beginning of January that where I was.

Rachel Dillon: At first I was disappointed. Like, I'm not going to make it. There's not enough days left in the month. And then immediately was like, but it's not that far off. What could I do to get closer if I didn't have the accountability of that [00:45:00] app in that measurement? I mean, honestly, I wouldn't have even I would have thought nothing about it. And when we would have gone to New York, I probably would have slept in every single day on that vacation, instead of getting up and going to the gym, just thinking about, you know, what we would be doing during the day would be a lot of movement. So accountability definitely is, um, helpful in having that measurement. And way to track adds a layer of like self accountability that you can hold yourself [00:45:30] accountable because you're literally like logging it or checking it off, um, but able to look at it and see progress being made every single day.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And I think whether it's the business goals, nutrition, fitness, you know, reading goal. Uh, maybe a faith goal you have or a personal development goal. Um, you can set that. And whatever your metric of success looks like, whether you've met the whole goal or you're meeting that goal, breaking it [00:46:00] down and tracking it and putting a number to it, which most of us, you and I included. Um, but then other listeners feel comfortable with numbers. So I think, you know, is it a goal that can be answered? Did you do it or not? Yes or no. And then that's like the how you track, whether it was done. So not making these goals or even the tracking towards success of these goals, ambiguous, actually being able to be measured, whether it's yes or no or a dollar amount or a number, [00:46:30] um, just like your 300, um, something. One of the mental tricks that I do on days when I don't feel like I'm going to finish or want to do whatever I've set out, like, even if it's, let's just say walking on a treadmill and you've got a goal of 20 minutes a day. Um, there's a lot of times I'll just, you know, I'll think, man, there's something else that I could totally be doing right now. And I break things down percentage wise. Um, and do math to kind of. I [00:47:00] guess I keep myself sharp that way. Um, and keep, you know, in the game, so to speak.

Marcus Dillon: But I'll break things down percentage wise. So if I'm at ten minutes, that's 50%. And then I start equating it. Well, I don't want to be a loser and only do 50%. And then you get to 15 minutes and then that 75% and you're like 75, you know, uh, a c I could graduate with a C, but I don't want to be a 75% person. So I continue to break it down. And then I'm occupying my mind with, like, math and [00:47:30] arguing with myself and not thinking about the pain of walking or maybe running if it is a faster treadmill. And that's how I get through it. Because you can do anything for two minutes, three minutes. And if you're at 96%, we'll just keep going and then make 100. So, um, that's the game that I play with myself pretty much daily when it comes to a treadmill. Uh, if you want to know what's going on in my mind on those morning walks or runs that I'm doing at the gym. [00:48:00] But, uh. But, yeah, when the days get tough, breaking it down, you know, playing games with yourself, that's everything that has helped me to whenever you do stop the treadmill and think it wasn't that bad, or when you sit down the pencil at the end of tax season and say, it wasn't that bad, like, you just think like it's all those little things that you've done that added up to meeting that goal and seeing that achievement.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, that's funny because, um, for all the listeners, for [00:48:30] any person who thinks they go to the gym and other people are going to be looking at them, just know now that majority of people are just doing math in their minds while they're working out. They're not even thinking about anything. But how can I trick myself into thinking that this exercise is less than what it is? When I do pull ups, I do the same thing because I only do like sets of six. I'm like, it's only three and three, okay, I only have two more. So I'm the whole time [00:49:00] I'm working out, I think I'm just convincing myself like it's not that much. It's just this little amount. You can do this little amount and then you rest. Um, so that's. Yeah. That's fun. Okay. What are some of your personal 20, 25 goals that are actually, like measurable, like you want to do this a certain number of times or days of the week or whatever?

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I have written all of those out because as mentioned, I meet with an accountability partner that, um, [00:49:30] there's eight areas of life that we track and, you know, nutrition, um, physical fitness, like fitness is one of them, Obviously marriage, faith, walk like I have all of those lined out. And, um, I went through that process during December to then prepare for it for January. And I do not have that in front of me today. So I don't want to.

Rachel Dillon: Just tell your marriage.

Marcus Dillon: Well, yeah, the marriage ones easy. Like, I just want to make sure that, um, you know, that we are in [00:50:00] sync from a marriage perspective and that we're communicating actively. And how do we do that? So is it a date night once a week that's like, did that get done or not? Yes or no. Um, and so communication wise, are we kind of matching up and communicating there. And that goes back to like quality of communication. So I think part of it is achieving that goal to a healthy marriage goes back to communication. And that's kind of how I've set it out for 2025 [00:50:30] and have those metrics in place. And the same thing with like faith walk and faith journey and, you know, reading the Bible and Bible app and, you know, did you do it or not? Like that's success. And, um, maybe there's one on retreat. So like rest and retreat. Rest. How many hours sleep are you getting? Retreat. Are you able to go away for an extended period? Hours, weekend, day, whatever. And like, you know, just be able to reset expectations. And so [00:51:00] did that happen or not? That's as easy as the goal could be. And so um, but yeah, I've, I've said all those out and kind of shared them with my accountability partner to make sure that the eight pieces of life are, you know, all healthy and on track. And, um, but yeah, those are some of them. I just gotta make sure that they're in line and grade myself consistently and have people that hold me accountable to them.

Rachel Dillon: Um, I set out some new ones [00:51:30] for this year personally. And so this doesn't include like the regular Routine. We've made a lot of things habit that maybe some people would be setting as a goal to get started. Um, last year was 300 workouts. This year I want to set it as 290 days, which is different because I had to double up a lot of those to get to 300. So 290 days that I will at least walk for 20 minutes, but ideally would do like a full [00:52:00] workout. Um, and then reading one book a month, because I don't always do that. Sometimes I'll read a whole lot, and then a couple of months of more just listening to podcasts and not actually reading any books. And then kind of a faith goal that I am adding on is our, um, one of our pastors set out five study questions for every time you read the Bible. And so when I read, I read every morning, um, [00:52:30] in my Bible. But when I read those, answering those five questions after I read. So not just reading the passage, but also doing the study just to go a little bit deeper, hopefully in whatever I'm reading and kind of hear something or see something new to experience with that.

Marcus Dillon: So yeah, and I guess the whole point of all the development that we do, both in the business or personally, like it's not to achieve like perfection, right? Like I don't think I [00:53:00] don't think perfect exists, uh, when it comes to like us as humans or even us in the business, like you're just going to have new challenges to go fix, and you're going to be so thankful that you can maybe address that challenge or that task, or that, you know, whatever you set out to be, and you've got all the experience that has led to this point and all the health, like, let's say if it's personal health goal, you were able to then do [00:53:30] that because now you're a you're a healthier person. You can continue to go about life in business. You know, if if there's growth and good that's coming from that growth. New team members being elevated and team members joining, then problems don't go away. Problems look a lot different or challenges look a lot different. And um, that's just the that's the evolution, right? That's the growth that comes along with what you and I believe in and what we study and a lot of what our friends believe in as well. So I think [00:54:00] part of all of this is because you and I are open and discussing and what we're doing and how we're growing.

Marcus Dillon: Hopefully it's okay to share that with others, and hopefully that gives others the ability to share that with people that they're close to. Maybe it's their spouse and maybe it's their team members, and maybe that filters over into, uh, different organizations and different families and would highly recommend if you're setting goals, if you're setting resolutions, which is [00:54:30] the bad word today, to actually share that with others, you know. And that that may be where it gets really uncomfortable because is your is your resolution or your goal a pipe dream? And you know, for me to set out and say, I'm going to run a ultra marathon by the end of March. Like, hopefully you would see that and be like, you're going to get hurt and then I'm going to have to take care of you because you're hurt, and then I'm gonna have to do more stuff in the business and at home because you're hurt. And I don't think that's a good goal. So, [00:55:00] uh, accountability could go a long way. Uh, but I would encourage whoever you know is still listening to share those, uh, goals and those resolutions with others.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely.

Rachel Dillon: So I think even on days when you don't feel like going or maybe you just don't feel like setting a goal because you're maybe worried you won't stick with it, or you don't see necessarily the value that you're going to do good things naturally. Um, I think it can all be summed up in one in one word, and that's probably accountability. [00:55:30] And there are multiple systems and ways of self accountability or um, kind of getting some outside accountability or even a group accountability. But that is going to be your number one way to definitely reach or achieve whatever you're working towards, definitely to get better.

Marcus Dillon: Who would have thought accountants and accountability would go hand in hand?

Rachel Dillon: So that's a good one. All right. This has been a great conversation. Talk to you [00:56:00] soon.

Marcus Dillon: All right.Thanks so much.

Rachel Dillon: Thanks for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed the conversation and want to learn more, be sure to visit CPAacademy. You can schedule a meeting directly with me, Rachel. By clicking on the Contact Us page. Be sure to subscribe, like, and share so you don't miss any future episodes. We look forward to connecting with you soon!