“Get the pricing wrong, and you’re going to see all those other things cascade.”

In this episode of Greater than the Sum, Mark welcomes Ryan Lazanis, who successfully scaled and sold a seven-figure accounting firm and is now providing support to fellow accountants through his work as a CEO of Future Firm.

As an experienced accountant, Ryan knows firsthand the tradeoffs that come with the risk-averse training of the profession. But if you want to run a business, you must be open to growing, learning, and innovating. And that often requires thinking outside of the box and taking calculated risks.

Ryan breaks down all the lessons learned from his entrepreneurship journey, from an accountant-specific point of view. He highlights the importance of pricing your offerings smartly and avoiding the pitfalls of undervaluing yourself.

He also shares some tried-and-true strategies for negotiating strong business deals, recognizing the areas where you need to grow, and continuously educating and bettering yourself as a firm owner.

This episode focuses on:

• Common mistakes that accounting firm owners make
• The essential tips for overcoming the knowledge gap as a business owner
• The importance of getting pricing right – and how it can impact everything else
• Ryan’s proven three-tier pricing approach to make discussions with clients straightforward and tension-free

Greater than the Sum helps small business owners and the accountants who serve them remove the guesswork from their business finances and gain back the time to focus on what really matters.

You can check out Plooto.com for resources, tips, and advice on how to get control over your cash flow.

Links from the episode:

Future Firm Accelerator Program: https://futurefirm.co/accelerator/

Ryan’s recommended books for accountants: https://futurefirm.co/best-books-for-accountants-to-read/

Spark Hire recruitment software: https://www.sparkhire.com/

Vervoe: https://vervoe.com/

Future Firm newsletter: https://futurefirm.co/newsletter/

Ryan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlazanis/

Chapter Markers:

(01:01) Introduction: Ryan’s business mission and purpose

(01:46) Advice for my past self: Reverse-engineer your business

(03:20) Lessons from entrepreneurship: Starting a business as an accountant

(05:40) Challenges of starting a business: The importance of a pricing strategy

(08:30) Cloud accounting then vs. now: Winning customers’ trust

(11:42) Common mistakes SMBs make: Pricing, marketing, talent acquisition

(13:43) Tactics for negotiating pricing: A three-tier framework

(17:42) Resources for improving your skills as a business owner

(19:22) The critical role of your pricing strategy on business

(22:21) How to find tools to transform your business

In this episode of Greater than the Sum, we’re joined by Tim Lynn and Jonah Tetz, co-founder and operations lead at Startup TNT.

Startup TNT – named after the company’s “Thursday Night Tradition” happy hours – is a non-profit that connects investors with Canadian startups.

The pair join our host Mark to talk about the company’s mission, history, and future, as well as venture capital funding and investment opportunities for local startups. They talk about

the importance of retaining talent in Canada, the unique ways they connect local investors with local startups and entrepreneurs, and how they support Canadian startups with both community and capital.

Startup TNT has just closed its first venture capital fund, and Tim and Jonah tell us about their approach to raising investment and how they plan to distribute it across their network of startups.

Finally, the conversation turns to the future of Startup TNT and how new technologies like Plooto maximize efficiencies in a scalable way.

This episode focuses on:

• The challenges of running a startup in Canada
• How Startup TNT stands out from other similar angel investors
• The opportunities for entrepreneurs in Canada, now and in the future
• The importance of culture and community, and how it can help avoid burnout

Greater than the Sum helps businesses and the accountants who serve them remove the guesswork from their finances and gain back the time to focus on what really matters.

You can check out Plooto.com for resources, tips, and advice on how to get control over your cash flow.

Links from the episode

Check out the resources mentioned in the interview with Tim and Jonah:

Startup TNT Website

Happy Hour events across Canada

Tim on LinkedIn

Jonah on LInkedIn

Chapter Markers

(00:49) Introduction to Tim and Jonah and to Startup TNT

(04:00) Common misconceptions about the venture space: Is it right for all businesses?

(04:55) The Startup TNT approach: What sets them apart from their competitors?

(07:08) The struggles Canadian startups face: How to raise capital at home

(08:07) Beyond funding: Education and mentorship through Startup TNT

(09:35) Their first venture capital fund: The game plan

(11:58) Secrets of a strong team culture: It starts at the very start

(13:13) Raising a million dollars: How to manage capital sustainably

(18:18) Trust and new technologies: How Plooto helped Startup TNT scale

(21:45) Canada loves startups: Government support across Alberta

(23:49) The future for Canadian startups: AI driving the future of UI

(27:02) Avoiding burnout: Culture and understanding from the top down

(30:25) Where to find out more about Startup TN

“As we automate: the cost of delivering our service decreases, and that’s passed on to the [end] client.’”

In this episode of Greater than the Sum, Omar Visram, co-founder of bookkeeping firm Enkel, and Mark explore the unique challenges facing Enkel’s SMB and NPO clients. With the longstanding approvals and manual check-signing protocols that some still use, there’s an opportunity to inject efficiency into this payment process.

Omar talks us through some common mistakes NPOs are making and how new technologies are helping to drive efficiency, better cash control, and growth. Omar also discusses some of the success stories he has seen from businesses implementing new technologies and provides advice for those looking to take the first steps.

This episode focuses on:

• The challenges facing the financial health of SMBs and NPOs
• How new technologies are improving efficiencies for NPOs and SMBs
• How Omar is continuing to drive the evolution of NPO processes
• The benefits of consolidating your tech stack

Greater than the Sum helps small businesses – and the accountants and bookkeepers who serve them – remove the guesswork from their business finances and gain back the time to focus on what really matters.

Check out Plooto.com for resources, tips, and advice on how to support your clients in getting better control over their cash flow.

Links from the episode

Enkel’s website

Omar on LinkedIn

Dext

Payworks

The successful bookkeeper podcast

How I built this podcast

Chapter Markers

(01:05) Introduction: Getting to know Omar and Enkel

(02:17) Advice for my past self: Remember to enjoy life

(04:14) Unique challenges for SMBs and NPOs: Overhauling the process

(08:12) Identifying new technologies: Using automation for greater efficiency

(12:08) Knowing the numbers: The common mistakes NPOs make

(14:30) New technologies + experienced professionals = Efficiency, cash control and growth

(16:53) Modern bookkeeping for SMBs: Better outcomes for the end-client

(19:55) Consolidate your tool stack: Don’t waste time on multiple solutions

(24:21) Quickfire advice: Start small to grow smart

(25:28) When clients are slow to respond: Backlog zero