In today’s episode of the Team Business podcast, co-hosts Mike Fusco and Ray Ramirez interview Chase Birky, CPA, President and Co-Founder of Dark Horse CPA. Chase talks about the significance of technology in the CPA and accounting industry. He also shares the business model they created that allows them to have the best of both worlds.
Episode Highlights:
- Mike introduces Chase Birky. (3:58)
- Chase mentions their vlog called This Week This Morning that they release every Friday morning. (8:54)
- Chase shares one of the things that they did before the pandemic was they realized the opportunity of an online presence, being searchable on Google, and a great website that’s useful for potential clients. (9:41)
- Chase mentions that the vast majority of small firms use their website as a business card. (10:08)
- Chase shares that it’s significant for them to have an online presence and reviews that clients use to vet a business before reaching out. (11:08)
- Chase shares that technology is beneficial for them because they know that the accounting industry is going to automate furthermore compliance-related work. (12:13)
- Chase mentions one of the things that’s been sorely lacking is the focus on a forward-looking advisory for their clients. (13:14)
- Chase thinks that there are very strong parallels between team sports and business. (16:57)
- Chase shares that what motivates him is the business model that they created, which allows CPAs to come in and build a book of business in six months, and leverage the resources they have, from technology to staffing standpoint. (17:28)
- Chase shares that Microsoft Teams and Zoom is their way to keep in touch and have conversations. It has been a huge tool for them and has become the backbone of their communication. (22:56)
- Chase mentions that from their standpoint, there is a moral imperative for them to give their best in a situation where all of the information isn’t available.
Key Quotes
- “Our real philosophy on all this is that you can’t do anything to slow technology down, we all know that and you can’t bury your head in the sand. So you got to embrace it and for us, it became about, okay, let’s find ways to make technology improve our work-life, by doing and automating the things that we don’t like doing.” – Chase Birky
- “Team sports are not the only way, but it’s one of the best ways to learn how to be a good team member at a company, how to be a good employee, and how to be a good leader.” – Chase Birky
- “I think everything is a perception, and that’s based on whatever data and whatever experience a given person has. So I tend to change my focus more from what people don’t know about us, to let’s just lead by example and show them.” – Chase Birky
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