Are you running a successful accounting firm and running yourself into the ground? If you’re an accounting firm owner logging 60+ hour weeks to keep things afloat, you’re not alone (one survey found 99% of accountants have felt burnout).
I’ve been there myself – a recovering workaholic CPA who once believed 80-hour weeks were a badge of honor.
Spoiler alert: they’re not. Hitting seven figures means nothing if you’re too exhausted to enjoy the success.
The good news is you can scale your firm without sacrificing your life. It starts with asking yourself some tough (but game-changing) questions about your goals, your mindset, and how you lead.
Honest answers will help you scale smart, not hard – building a thriving 7-figure firm and a life you love, no burnout required.
Before you charge ahead toward that “7-Figure, 4-Hour Workweek” dream, take a step back. Grab a cup of coffee (or your favorite beverage) and reflect on these five questions. Your answers will set the tone for how you grow – and whether you end up with freedom and fulfillment, or just a bigger grind. Let’s dive in, friend!
1. What Does Success Actually Look Like for You?
First, get crystal clear on your why. Why do you want a 7-figure firm, and what do you want your life to look like when you get there? It’s easy to say “I want more money” or be dazzled by the revenue goal.
But take a moment to picture your ideal 3-5 years from now: How many hours are you working? Where are you spending your time? Who are you with? If your vision includes things like flexibility, family dinners, weekends off, or even just finally taking that vacation without a laptop, hold onto that. Success isn’t just a dollar number – it’s about designing a business that serves your life, not the other way around.
In my case, I realized I didn’t just want a profitable firm; I wanted freedom.
After hitting rock bottom with burnout, I imagined a future where my firm thrived and I had time for my health and family. That meant redefining success. For you, it might mean time wealth (having the hours to spend as you choose), better health, or stronger relationships.
Be brutally honest: If scaling your firm would double your revenue but also double your stress, would that really be a success? Probably not.
So, define what balanced success looks like. Maybe it’s a million-dollar firm and a 4-day workweek, or being able to coach your kid’s soccer team without phone interruptions.
When you know what you’re aiming for, you can make strategic decisions to get there. Keep that personal vision front and center – it will guide every other choice you make.
2. Who Are Your Best Clients (and Which Should You Let Go)?
Not all revenue is created equal. One of the fastest ways to scale without burnout is to get picky about who you serve and what you offer.
Ask yourself: Do you have an ideal client profile, or are you trying to be everything to everyone? Chasing every potential client and offering every service under the sun is a recipe for burnout. Instead, identify your most valuable clients – the ones who respect your team, value your advice, and pay premium fees for premium service.
Those are the clients to double down on. Similarly, which services generate high value for clients and decent margins for you? Focus on that sweet spot and consider trimming the rest.
Remember, specialization is powerful. By narrowing your niche, you actually open up growth, because you become exceptional at the things that matter most. I began leading with tax planning, to where we wouldn’t even accept or keep a client we couldn’t do a tax plan for, and it tripled revenue after selling 60% of clients!
Be honest: do you need to fire some clients? (I know, it sounds harsh – but stick with me.)
If a segment of your client list is causing 80% of your headaches for 20% of the revenue, it might be time to politely part ways (or sell them and control the outcome better). Scaling a firm isn’t just about adding clients; it’s about curating the right ones. Imagine serving fewer clients at higher fees, and taking home more with less stress – it’s not a fantasy, it’s a strategy.
In fact, many firms find that when they shift from low-margin, high-volume work (like churning out bargain-basement tax returns) to high-value client advisory services, they can work with fewer clients and still hit that seven-figure mark.
So, ask: Which clients would I clone if I could? And which clients make me cringe when the phone rings? Aim to keep (and attract) more of the former and gracefully exit the latter. Your team (and your sanity) will thank you, and your firm will be set up to grow with quality over quantity.
3. Are You Ready to Get Out of Your Own Way?
Here comes a tough one: Are you the bottleneck in your firm’s growth? Many firm owners unintentionally are. If you’re the only one who can close a big client, fix a workflow issue, or even approve every outgoing email, you’re holding your business back.
Scaling to seven figures with a tiny workweek requires letting go of the notion that you must do it all. So ask yourself: Can you trust others to handle the work nearly as well as you? (Hint: with training and time, they might do it even better.) As leadership expert John Maxwell says, “If someone else can do a task 80% as well as you can, delegate it.”
I’d go further – if a team member can get it 80% right today, with your mentorship they might hit 120% before long. In other words, your job shifts from doer to coach. And guess what? Coaches don’t play every position on the field.
Being willing to step back is a major mindset shift. It means conquering the control freak inside (yes, the struggle is real, accountants). I like to remind our Growth users that done is better than perfect, and done by someone else is sometimes the biggest win of all. If you keep clinging to every task, you’ll remain the cap on your firm’s capacity. So, are you ready to relinquish some control?
Try this: make a list of everything you do in a week. Now mark the tasks that truly require your CPA expertise or leadership touch – likely a short list. The rest are opportunities to delegate, outsource, or automate. Freeing yourself from the minutiae is not lazy; it’s leadership.
It allows you to focus on high-level strategy, client relationships, and vision (the stuff only you can do), while your team handles the day-to-day. Scaling smart is about doing less better. Step aside a bit, and watch your firm’s potential (and your freedom) grow. Time blocking never lies, but it will expose the tall tales you tell yourself about being fit in everything.
4. Who Runs Your Firm When You’re Not There?
Think about it: if you took a month off (completely off-grid… I know, gasp), would your firm survive? Would it thrive? If your honest answer is “Not a chance,” it’s time to invest in your team and systems so the business isn’t solely dependent on you.
A seven-figure firm with a four-hour workweek doesn’t mean the work disappears – it means you’ve built a well-oiled machine that can run without constant hand-holding. So ask: Do you have the right people in the right seats, and do they have the authority and tools to make decisions? Your goal is to empower your team to “fly solo” when needed. That could mean grooming a second-in-command who can handle client issues and lead the crew in your absence, or simply training your staff to solve problems without always coming to you for approval. We could learn a lot from other industries by having project managers, COOs, a sales team, etc.
Great leaders create other leaders. If every decision bottlenecks at your desk, your firm’s growth will stall (and you’ll never escape those long hours). Start trusting your team with more responsibility. Encourage them to take ownership of client experiences and internal projects. Yes, mistakes might happen – that’s part of growth. But a culture of ownership and learning is far more scalable than a culture of fear and micro-management.
One thing that helped me was realizing leadership is about others. It’s not about me being the hero of every story; it’s about elevating my people to be heroes for our clients. When you invest time in hiring well, training thoroughly, and communicating your vision, you can step away confidently.
So, who’s your “dream team”? Identify those rockstar employees (present or future) who, with a bit more mentorship, could lead client meetings, manage projects, or innovate new solutions. Nurture them. Give them stretch assignments and the chance to shine.
When your team can carry the torch, you get to take a breath, and your firm can scale well beyond the limits of your bandwidth.
5. Are Your Systems Ready to Scale (Or Held Together by Duct Tape)?
Last but not least, let’s talk infrastructure. Growing without burning out isn’t just about people – it’s also about process. Ask yourself: Are my firm’s systems and workflows smooth, documented, and scalable? Or are we winging it anew each time?
If your internal processes are ad-hoc or living in your head, you’ll hit a wall when you try to grow (or when you try to unplug). It’s time to streamline and systematize. Think checklists, templates, and tech tools: the boring stuff that actually gives you freedom.
For example, do you have a standardized onboarding process for new clients? A project management system that tracks deadlines and responsibilities? Automated reminders for your team and clients to keep things moving? These kinds of systems might sound mundane, but they’re your secret weapon to working less without dropping the ball, which I could geek out on all day.
Embrace technology to do the heavy lifting. We’re in an age of amazing software for accountants – from workflow automation to AI assistants. Use them!
If you’re still doing data entry or manually following up on every task, that’s hours of your week that could be freed with the right app or integration. Yes, there’s an upfront investment of time (and money) to set up good systems, but the ROI is huge.
Solid processes ensure consistency and quality even when you’re not personally involved. They also make it easier to onboard new team members and scale up volume without chaos. I often say, if you can automate or document it, do it. Save your brainpower for strategy and creative problem-solving – let your systems handle the routine. A firm that runs like clockwork is one where you, the owner, can actually step away at 3 PM to pick up the kids (or for two weeks in July) and trust that things won’t crash and burn.
So do a quick audit: Where are the bottlenecks or fire drills in your operations? What task do you never want to do manually again? Fix it with a system now, and your future self (sipping a cocktail on a beach while your firm hums along) will thank you.
Conclusion: Ready to Scale on Your Terms?
Growing a firm to seven figures and reclaiming your time is absolutely achievable – but only if you lead with intention. It’s about making the mental shift from just working in your business to working on it.
By now, you’ve reflected on some key questions. Maybe you’ve realized you need to redefine success, niche down your services, delegate more, empower your team, or tighten up your systems (likely a mix of all of the above!).
The journey to a balanced seven-figure firm isn’t always easy, but take it from someone who’s navigated that path: it’s 100% worth it. I went from burnout and 80-hour weeks to a business that practically ran itself (yes, even during busy season), and it all started with the kind of honest questions we just walked through.
If you’re excited (and even a little nervous) about making these changes, you’re exactly where you need to be. And you don’t have to figure it out alone! I’d love to help you dive deeper into these leadership strategies to scale without burnout.
Join me for our upcoming Canopy webinar, “7-Figure Firm, 4-Hour Workweek: Leadership Strategies to Scale Without Burnout.” We’ll unpack each of these topics with real-life examples and actionable steps you can implement in your firm. It’s going to be an honest, value-packed session (with a few cheeky stories thrown in, of course).
Ready to build your 7-figure firm on your terms? Don’t miss out – register for the webinar now and take the next step toward a business and life you absolutely love. We will preview topics from my upcoming book, “The Balanced Millionaire: Advisor Edition”. I can’t wait to see you there!
