Ron and Ed welcomed Reza Hooda, a chartered accountant in the UK who transformed his firm and subsequently himself. Back in 2008, he acquired a small firm called Walji & Co after he left his position as an accountant at PwC. He wanted to be his own boss as well as make a noticeable impact in some way to the accounting industry. We are excited to hear his story of how he has done just that. Reza can be found at www.rezahooda.com and is most active on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rezahooda/

A bit more about Reza Hooda…

Reza Hooda is a mentor and coach to ambitious accounting firm owners who want to win higher paying clients, make more money and free up time. He also runs an accounting firm for property owners and content creators/influencers.

Use these show notes to follow along with the audio…

Segment one:

Reza went straight to PWC from graduation and he was there for 5 years. Today he helps to transform accounting firms and the LIVES of those who work there. This is going to be a great show. Miss it live? Subscribe here: https://link.chtbl.com/TSOE
The corporate tax deadline in the UK is based on the financial year of the company as opposed to one deadline for all. That’s for our listeners outside of the UK who might not know.
Reza introduced timesheets into his small firm from the beginning based on his time at PWC. This was him “being dynamic and forward thinking” :) Fortunately, Mark Wickersham introduced him to value pricing!
So obviously Reza learned the hard way on his journey to bury the billable hour. You do not need to learn the hard way because of his experience.
On niching down: “When you appeal to everyone, you actually appeal to no one.” —Reza Hooda

Segment two:

The value pricing journey for Reza took a few years. He saw immediate success with one-off projects like tax planning where an economic value was obvious. It took longer to adapt value pricing to the recurring work but it wasn’t impossible by any means.
One of the most helpful resources in moving away from the billable hour was the Results One Work Environment from @JodyROWE (a fantastic resource and former guest!)
Paraphrasing from Reza: How well you use the intellectual capital in your firm is the key to success….NOT how long it takes you to do something.
Profitability is quite simple. Maximize your top line and minimize your costs. Your positioning is really important. If you try to appeal to everyone you don’t differentiate and are seen as a commodity. Commodities do not command higher prices.
“It’s your strategy and positioning that dictate the pricing. It’s not the other way around.” —Ron Baker
Reza has a great model for accounting firm transformations: Pricing, Positioning, Process, and People are the 4 pillars to a more successful profitable accounting firm.

Segment three:

Is there resistance to burying the billable hour amongst Reza’s clients? Yes, but it is primarily around the idea of positioning and niching down. They still think that the doors should remain open to everyone as a generalist.
Some questions to consider around niching down: Who do you enjoy working with? What is the segment in your client in which you get value and they get value? This is what Reza calls profit, passion, and value.
This is a great quote on niching down: “Go narrow and go deep.” —Reza Hooda
In Reza’s experience, there are three ways to niche down. You can niche by industry, lifecycle or activity.
Pricing doesn’t come from costs. Pricing is simply taking a share of the value you are creating. If this resonates with you then it is a MUST that you listen to our interview with Reza Hooda. Subscribe here: https://link.chtbl.com/TSOE

Segment four:

“The value we provide is the peace of mind that we give a client.” Access to you is value.
Reza has a pricing model that caters for various sizes of businesses. The parameters and variables he has identified allow for the pricing to change as businesses grow. He spoke in great detail about this during segment four of the show.
A big THANK YOU to Reza Hooda for joining us today! Check out more of his work at https://www.rezahooda.com/

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

This past week was bonus episode 406 - Timesheets kill
Here are a few links Ron and Ed discussed on the bonus episode: