Why I’ve Added Business & Life Coaching Services to My “Traditional” CPA Firm

As a CPA, I've always tried to empower my clients to navigate their financial landscapes confidently. But accountants are often seen as the “dentists” of the financial world (no offense to my dentist friends), you know, as a necessary, once-a-year headache that “keeps clients out of jail.” With this mindset, it is no wonder that it is difficult to convince business owners that we accountants can do so much more when given the opportunity! I’m also blaming the CPA industry because historically, we have not been great at communicating our value, and we’ve spent decades eyeballs deep in tax returns and other compliance work, so we’ve not had the bandwidth to innovate our service models until now.

But Life Coaching, Jenn, Really? Really!

In 2021, I was a burnt-out, frustrated leader struggling to manage my business and my team effectively. To change this, I sought help not from one but two different business coaches to "fix" my business, which opened my eyes to the transformative power of coaching. What needed “fixing” was me, my leadership skills, my assertiveness, and a reconnection to my why.

The impact was profound—I saw how coaching helped me become a better leader and service provider, and I realized how much my clients could benefit from this approach as well. In 2023, I spent a year learning how to be an Organizational and Team Coach, and I loved it so much I enrolled in Life Coach training. These new skills allow me to help clients not only improve their business performance but also reconnect with their purpose, ensuring our work together supports their most authentic and fulfilling lives. It’s big. It’s rewarding. It’s fun. I am finally in my genius zone!

How Coaching Helps The Growing Needs of Small Business Owners

Going Beyond the Numbers

I’ve worked closely with business owners for over two decades, and I’ve seen that their biggest challenges go far beyond fixing messy QuickBooks and completing tax returns. While keeping the books in order is crucial, it’s just one teeny piece of a giant puzzle. The real struggles that keep business owners up at night are not so much about balancing debits and credits—they’re about making confident, quick business decisions, being able to rely on team members, and avoiding burnout.

I’ve seen firsthand how many of my clients, who are brilliant in their respective fields, grapple with the demands of leadership and letting go of the wheel, trusting team members to do it their way and being able to work in their unique genius zone. They find themselves “Fire Chief” constantly putting out fires, “Chief Everything Officer” bogged down in the daily operations, and “Chief Doer” struggling to delegate effectively. This leadership style leads to a vicious cycle where they’re overworked, their team is underutilized, and their business’s growth stalls.

Offering A Better Kind of Support

To truly support my clients, many of them I’ve had for decades, I wanted to offer a more comprehensive approach that considers both the business's financial health and the owner's personal well-being. This is where the mix of business AND life coaching comes into play.

By expanding my services to include coaching, I can provide the kind of holistic support that empowers business owners to achieve financial success and build a business that aligns with their values and lifestyle. This approach helps them develop the leadership skills to create strong, cohesive teams and establish boundaries to prevent burnout. It’s about assisting them to see the bigger picture and guiding them to make strategic decisions that lead to sustainable growth, not just short-term gains. Did I mention that my genius zone is “big picture” thinking?

Growth-minded founders have multifaceted needs. They’re not just looking for someone to file their taxes—they’re looking for a partner who can help them navigate the complexities of running a business, someone who can provide clarity, strategy, and support on all fronts. But they may not even know about coaching and what it can do for them. I do, I’ve been there! And going forward, that’s precisely what I aim to help people understand!

So Let me Introduce You to Business & Life Coaching

Traditional tax and accounting services lay the foundation for a healthy business by ensuring financial compliance and optimizing tax strategies. However, they don’t address the deeper, more complex challenges that business owners face, which can significantly impact their businesses' success and sustainability. Coaching provides clarity, strategy, and ongoing support in a way that lets the client lead their own transformation. Coaching views the client as whole, complete, competent, creative, resourceful and the expert on their life and business. Coaching conversations bring out the inner wisdom that is stifled by the day-to-day grind of running the business. The key outcomes from coaching are client awareness, insight, clarity, action steps, and accountability.

Coaching offers a unique opportunity to go beyond the numbers and dig into what makes a business thrive and become a joy to run. It’s about helping business owners see the bigger picture and align their daily operations with their long-term vision. By integrating coaching into my services, I can work closely with clients to identify their goals, develop actionable strategies, and provide the accountability needed to follow through.

Aligning with My Why

I’m Fed Up With The Status Quo

I am done with the status quo of traditional CPA roles, where people view accountants as a yearly necessary evil, financial babysitters, or as dull bean countin’, number-crunchin’, green-shade-wearin' nerds. I know I have much more value to give to my clients. My purpose is to make a meaningful impact on the lives of small business owners by transforming them from overwhelmed chief doers into confident, empowered business leaders. Adding business and life coaching to my practice allows me to fulfill this mission in alignment with my purpose. It allows me to work in my strengths and show up at my best, and highest value to my clients. I get to be a true partner in my clients’ success, helping them grow their businesses and their confidence, leadership abilities, and personal fulfillment and I get to love every minute of it.

An Invitation to Forward-Thinking “Chief Doers” who Want More

I invite all the Chief Doers, Fire Chiefs, and Chief Everything Officers to explore how my coaching services might benefit you and your business. Whether you’re struggling with delegation, facing burnout, or simply looking to take your business to the next level, my approach is designed to provide the clarity, strategy, and support you need. I offer personalized free Break-Through calls where we can discuss your unique challenges and how we can work together to overcome them.

Let’s create a partnership that strengthens your business and enriches your life. We can build a business that serves you, your team, and your long-term vision for success. I’m dedicated to helping you unlock your full potential and achieve the outcomes you’ve always wanted—both in business and life.