Be Irresponsible, Sometimes

There was a time when I felt that if I had the ability to help someone I had an obligation to do so. I took it upon myself, as a responsible person, to help whenever needed. This worked modestly living out in the backwoods of Nowhere, Wisconsin. In the real world, my ideology is a recipe for disaster.

Many people share my former belief system. They (we) think we have to do everything we have the ability to do to help others. It is a worthy mindset, if not misplaced.

If a child is drowning in a pool and you can save the child, of course you should do so. But that isn’t what we are talking about here.

Business owners and side hustlers are the worst. We, because I am in the business owner class, believe we need more clients. As many clients as possible. At any cost! That is insane.

I am personally capable to preparing the tax return for over 100 million people and corporations. There are some I am unqualified to prepare, but at least 100 million are possible. I am under no obligation to prepare all 100 million tax returns! Nor should I hire staff to handle them all.

This mindset of helping everyone you possibly can is linked to the inability to say no. It isn’t the desire to help everyone that is the true issue. Instead, the goal is to serve anyone and everyone because you are afraid to turn people down.

Which leads to another mistake. When you work hard to say yes to everyone within shouting distance you tend to lower your price so everyone does want to hire you. Of course, this wears you out until quality goes out the window. Then the only clients you attract are interested in price only. It is a race to the bottom.

Of course, this isn’t limited to businesses or side hustles. Family and friends can be the worst. When you begin to get a backbone stand up for yourself you are reminded of how in the good ol’ days neighbors got together and helped each other. Too bad memories are shorter when you come calling.

You Are Not, And Should Not, Be Responsible

Time for a real life story.

Eight years ago my world changed. After decades as a backwoods tax professional an opportunity came out of the blue.

I feel in love with the earlier frugal nature of the Mr. Money Mustache blog. It appealed to me.

I decided to attend a gathering of Mustachians, which Pete, the guy who writes the blog, would attend. Since I was going to be there anyway I decided to ask if they would mind if I did a presentation on S-corps and small businesses.

Pete sat in the front row and center. Five minutes into the presentation he interrupted me to say, “You are my accountant.” Little did I know how scared I should have been.

And I was Pete’s accountant for several years. But when a blogger with 10 million views per month has a tax professional that the public is aware of, you can imagine the insanity to follow. But not right away. Disaster always comes with a delay.

My goal was to speak with Pete at the event and show him my DIY tax program. He loved the idea but wasn’t interested in becoming involved. Instead, he would publish a post on my DIY software and tax practice. The countdown had begun.

The following February Pete published the promised blog post. I knew the second it went live. That day over 3,000 emails came in and every phone line was busy.

And for some unknown reason I still felt I should help them all.

I did help as many as I could. But even that was an insane attempt. You can’t be proficient while “maxed out.” Quality suffered. Regular clients got lost in the shuffle.

Digging out required putting up walls. Pete didn’t have a store front. I did, and people could easily find my tax practice. Eight years later and I still have many people telling me they found me through that blog post. Most never get past the firewalls erected back then and fortified since.

First, I was stupid to think nobody would respond to a blog post about a backwoods accountant. I did nothing to protect my email, phone number, or address. Now I have several email addresses and nobody on any blog anywhere gets to my personal email address unless they are a client. And no, I don’t respond to every email sent from my blog or any other. Even hiring people to answer all the requests with a “No” would be too expensive.

Second, I wasted time thinking I could be everything for everyone. It cost dearly. I’ve grown wiser since then. I had to learn the hard way I can’t help everyone that asks for help, even if I am able to help them. Life does not work that way.

It Never Ends

The tax profession is shorthanded like never before. Requests come in to any warm body with experience at filling in an IRS tax form. My office is no different. I just got an early taste so I could prepare before things got really tight in accounting.

In a world where people are quick to say, “It’s not my responsibility,” it is important to define what should and should not be done.

I would like to think I take responsibility. Responsibility is serving my clients to the highest level possible and not taking on too many clients. Responsible, in this instance, means I am not responsible for every last thing I could do.

It is easy to see the people that need to hear this. They are always busy. They have no time for deep thinking, family, or even themselves. They are always running. “Can you _________,” and off they go running again.

There is even an adage for this: If you want something done, ask a busy person.

What an insult! To see someone stretched to the max and piling on because you know you can is about the most inconsiderate thing anyone can do.

This scene also has played out in my office.

After Pete gave my practice a push I learned a few skills to protect my personal space. All the things I complained celebrities did that I thought was rude now made sense. It doesn’t take that many people to feel the crush around you. Real celebrities really need to be commended. They manage it better than I ever have.

If you do good work a lot of people will vie for your attention. They want to hire you or your business. But you can’t help them all. You need to choose wisely or your work will suffer and the pleasure quickly gets sucked out of the thing you currently love.

And if you think erecting a large number of firewalls will save you, think again.

I no longer accept new clients. But regular clients keep adding to my workload! Here, in mid-summer, as I write, I should have plenty of free time. I do have a reasonable amount, but tax returns, a business valuation, regular clients expanding their current business, current clients starting new businesses, and more keep me busier than I sometime like.

Not complaining. I love my clients and serving them. It is also important I never make the prior mistake of taking on more than I can chew. That was not fun. In fact, of all the things I experienced in 40 years of business, that was the worst of all the events.

No

If you can’t say NO! you will always be exhausted. You will be the visibly busy person they will ask.

It is not laziness to command your schedule. I still work. A lot. Much of my work is reading and research and writing. All things I enjoy doing. Family is first and non-negotiable. Me time is also a priority and non-negotiable.

Now I want to share the real secret to all this before I leave you to your day.

I have fewer clients than at any time since the early 1990s. I make more money now, adjusted for inflation, than I ever have in my business career. I do better work. I am rarely stressed out. I have a life and a career.

Clients pay me more and ask for more services because I am doing better work than ever. There is real value to the client. My clients want value, not cheap.

With that I leave you. There is no more to this simple concept. Don’t be bullied into over-working. Find your zone.

You will be happier, better, and wealthier.