In this episode of the Disruptive Successor podcast, Jonathan Goldhill talks to Courtney DeRonde, a CPA and managing partner of TDT CPAs, a boutique advisory and accounting firm based in de Moines, Iowa. Courtney's extensive experience working with small family-owned businesses and nonprofit organizations have allowed her to identify the five most common blind spots that leaders growth-stage businesses encounter, and have devised strategies on overcoming these challenges. These blind spots are issues that are sure to arrive for any leader whose business has already grown past the startup stage, and the sooner that they identify these challenges, the faster they can work towards overcoming them. With the right attitude towards coachability and a hunger for growth, businesses can overcome the challenges brought about by any economic uncertainty.
HIGHLIGHTS
03:11 Perfectionism as a blessing and a curse
07:49 Developing oneself as a leader to expand business
11:38 Breakthroughs often come with a different set of problems
16:12 The first blind spot: doing way too much
18:53 The second blind spot: flying blind
21:02 The third blind spot: fighting fires
23:29 The fifth blind spot: failing to forecast
30:52 You can minimize, but not escape taxes
34:56 Focus on profitability is crucial in navigating economic uncertainties
39:55 Be the guide, not the hero of your customers
41:24 The fourth blind spot: the fear of missing out
QUOTES
04:11 Courtney: "I find my built-in desire to learn and to improve and to perfect things can be a wonderful asset, but it can also be very negative because I can come across as judgemental."
10:44 Jonathan: "If you have a CPA that only does a tax return, maybe gives you a few minimal ideas, then you don't have the right partner in your camp and you need someone like Courtney and her team."
14:14 Courtney: "The sooner you recognize there's something over here that I didn't see — as soon as you're alerted to that and can start addressing it, then you can work through and resolve those problems and keep moving up to your next set of goals and achievements even faster."
21:03 Courtney: "So as you get more people and more activity going on in your business, it can become harder to really determine whether or not you're fixing symptoms or addressing underlying causes. And so fighting fires is when you're spending all this time, putting out whatever's urgent, instead of stepping back and figuring out what is going on that's causing this and, and putting a stop to it."
30:48 Courtney: "The only way to pay zero tax is to make no money."
33:31 Jonathan: "Revenue generation is limitless, but cost cutting is limited. So if you're just trying to focus on reducing your tax bill, well, you're probably going to be thinking in terms of reducing your revenue as well."
42:27 Courtney: "Using a budget is a tool. It's a plan and create intentionality around what you do with that money. It's not just a way to manage expenses and to minimize costs. It's actually a tool that you can make sure that you're being intentional with all of the money that you're able to generate from your business."
To learn about Courtney, check out the link below:
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