Lessons from an accountant

Last Sunday, I spent 14 hours straight working on the one thing in my business I enjoy the least – my finances. I was sorting out receipts, reconciling statements and getting my files in a slick state for my accountant. The only thing that kept me motivated to work tirelessly through the day was my itunes playlist.

At 11pm I laid the last receipt to rest. Exhausted and relieved and with a feeling of total financial control, I made myself a celebratory cup of tea and sat outside under the stars to ponder. Then later in bed, for some inexplicable reason, I started tossing and turning and worrying about my financial future. (I’m guessing this is not an uncommon feeling for many small business owners after doing their finances.) Three days later I called my accountant to tell him I’d reconciled everything, checked and signed off last years’ tax returns and was ready to set myself up for the next financial year. ‘Before we get started,’ I said ‘I want to tell you I’ve been facing some fear around my financial future. I need some help and advice.’ I listened carefully for his response. ‘Yeah, yeah but the GST amount you owe that wasn’t reconciled came from...’ he responded. I tuned out. He’d dismissed my fears outright and I finished the call feeling quite despondent.

Later I got to thinking about this conversation. If he’d taken just five minutes to really listen to me, he could have turned my fear on its head. He could have acknowledged my fear and asked me some caring and thoughtful questions about why I was feeling like this. He could have told me a story of how his other clients had dealt with their financial fears. He could have recommended some books to read, some courses to attend or referred me to a financial coach. He could even have offered to give me an hour of his time, free, to talk me through it. He could have done a million things, but he chose to ignore my fear and focus on the numbers in front of him.

Sadly for him, he missed the biggest opportunity to create a raving fan and generate referrals from me. How many times does this happen in the course of business? Perhaps you’ve experienced this yourself or you’ve even been the perpetrator? Food for thought for you?

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