In this episode, we are joined by Chase Birky, founder of Dark Horse CPA, who shares his journey from accidentally starting his own firm to creating a platform CPA firm that supports and empowers other tax professionals. He discusses the difference between growing and scaling a practice and the importance of client selection, pricing, and setting expectations. Chase also highlights the value of collaboration and the need for tax professionals to focus on their core strengths while leveraging technology and strategic partnerships to enhance their services.

Key Takeaways:

• Scaling a tax practice requires setting clear expectations with clients, getting pricing and scoping right, and focusing on providing value.
• Client selection is crucial for building a successful practice, and it's important to say no to clients who are not a good fit.
• Collaboration and leveraging technology can help tax professionals streamline their processes and provide better service to clients.
• Private wealth management and specialty tax services can be valuable additions to a tax practice, but strategic partnerships may be necessary to provide these services effectively.
• Niche specialization can be a powerful way to differentiate and grow a tax practice, but it's important to consider market size, vulnerability to regulation changes, and potential risks.

Quotes:

• "If you don't set expectations with clients, they're going to run your practice for you."
• "Everything bad in a practice stems from getting the pricing wrong, getting the scoping wrong, or not setting appropriate expectations with clients."
• "Being a generalist is harder to provide value to an individual client than if you know that client's needs inside and out."
• "Collaboration over competition is essential in the tax and CPA world."
• "The tax pro-CPA financial advisor relationship is crucial for providing comprehensive financial services to clients."

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