The Fix for a Firm That Eats Your Whole Life? Charge More, Serve Fewer | Marit Burmood

Speaker A: Welcome back to another episode of the Accounting Leads now podcast. If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe and leave us a review. It means the world to us and ensures you'll never miss an upcoming episode. Now to our guest. She's a cpa, an enrolled agent, and holds a master's in taxation from Weber State University. But credentials aren't what make this conversation worth your time. What makes it worth your time is what she did. In eight months, she tripled her firm's revenue. Not by finding a better niche, not by hiring a sales team, not by cracking some marketing code. She did it by fixing something most firm owners won't even admit is a problem. She calls it imposter syndrome. And she'll tell you it was costing her more than just clients. It was costing her sleep, her health, her quality of life. She's a nationally recognized tax advisor, the founder of Flair Financial, llc, and one of the more honest guests we've had on the show. Please welcome her. Marit Bermud.

Speaker B: Wow. Thank you. That was an awesome intro. I need to, like, you know, put that on my website. Just stick it out.

Speaker A: We. Well, we appreciate you being here, Marit. I'm really excited for this one. I saw you speaking at Grow Con. I saw you on the. The speaker list, so I knew we had to have you come on the show. I don't think we had the chance to connect or Grow Con. It was pretty busy. Um, but we do have the chance now, so this is great. I've really been looking forward to this. I would love to dive right into things. Take me back before the breakthrough. What did a typical week look like when imposter syndrome was running the show? What was actually happening day to day for you?

Speaker B: Well, you know, I think that I, uh, didn't know that it was imposter syndrome. So a little background about me. I am not a formally trained accountant who worked at a Big Four prior. And so when I got my bachelor's in accounting, I did work under the supervision of a cpa. But it was super light. You know, he wasn't, I would say, overly technical in teaching me the tiny things. And so I really started my practice with no training at all, really. I mean, I. He would review my work, but there wasn't talks of how to actually work in a firm. Right. And so I think the imposter syndrome kind of started there. And that's why I initially got the enrolled agent, because I felt like, man, no one takes me seriously and no one wants to pay me enough. And and no one, you know, under, like when I'm telling them they need to do something, they don't believe me. And this was, you know, before AI too. So like, I couldn't just pull up something really quick and be like, look, here's proof, or they couldn't chat GPT, cross check me. And so, you know, I think it just kind of snowballed through the years of feeling like I wasn't this person who had worked at a big four and I didn't. And so when I went to get my master's in tax, I was decided I would go for my CPA because people still weren't wanting to pay me and they weren't wanting to respect my advice and my opinions. And when I went to get my master's in tax, I got a lot of feedback at, uh, Weber. It's a great program. If every anyone's ever think thinking about getting their masters at that time, I started getting the feedback that my work was really good. So that was as imposter syndrome started to shift out. But during that time, I mean, I just, it was a lot of frustration, a lot of answering things for free because I felt like, oh man, if I have to research this, I can't charge them. And just feeling very burnt out. I think burnt out and imposter syndrome go together a lot of the time.

Speaker A: Yeah, interesting. And I heard you pronounce Weber, so I'm gonna.

Speaker B: Oh yeah,

Speaker A: apologize for butchering more words on the podcast.

Speaker B: It's a Utah, Utah college. They're amazing. Good, good stuff.

Speaker A: Okay, awesome. So a lot of firm owners would say, you know, I just need more clients and they never look inward. What made you willing to go there?

Speaker B: It kind of started around money. I was just so frustrated around money and feeling like so tired of being broke. I guess you could say that. I, uh, read a book, and it wasn't a book about money, but it was one of those self help books. And once I read that, I thought, I wonder if there's anything like, in terms of, you know, my money mindset that needs to change. And so then I realized money mindsets took totally a thing. You know, it's kind of funny actually. I have never talked about this before, but we're raised, a lot of us are raised not with, not a lot of financial literacy. It's not really taught in schools. It is a little bit more now, but that's actually a side project that I've been working on as well, is like trying to help get more financial literacy to young adults. I work with a lot of influencers and content creators and 20 somethings that were just like me. But I think a lot of people miss out the fact that there's a whole entire money mindset that we also need to take into account account because we're never gonna, you know, even think that we're even worth anything to raise our prices or you know, think that we can raise our prices to a uh, comparable price to what other people charge if we have all of this gunk inside. So I think it was a natural progression of just being so frustrated and then realizing, oh, a lot of this is inside my own head that I need to like figure out first.

Speaker A: There's a lot to unpack there. I couldn't agree with you more because it does all start between the ears. And if you don't believe in that pricing, you'll never be able to communicate that value to the other person across the desk or now, you know, on zoom. So what would be, you know, that actionable piece of advice that you would tell the listener you're looking to charge more and you need to believe in yourself what is the thing they need to go and do.

Speaker B: I got lots of stuff for that. I think one thing that I found to be a game changer. So you know, we're talking about building accounting firms that are really successful and I realized during this time that uh, one of my biggest blocks was around the fact that I equated and a lot of people equate this. This is a reason why there are not as many young people getting into becoming CPAs. I just spoke at AICPA engagement and we talked a lot about the young potential professionals and they hear, oh, it's an 80 hour workweek. I don't want to be a CPA. Right. And business owners never have any life. I don't want to own a business. So I am a mom of three. I have identical twins and then a little bit of an older, almost two years older daughter. So I've got three daughters. And you know, growing up I had a single mom who was always at work. So around this time I kind my husband had a full time job. But I thought I am stopping myself because I'm equating with work and building my business to not having any time for my family. And the answer to that turned out to be raise your prices so that you need less clients which gives you more time. But I had to come to that realization that like what is my why first of all? Well, I need to make that and now my Daughters are older, we need piano lessons, we need violin lessons, we need kung fu, we need art, we need all the things. So it's even more important for me to make money now. But to get there, I also had to realize I don't have to just, like, work my life away either. And the answer to that really is raising your prices. And so how to really get behind that? First is your why, and then you start stacking on top. Because we're accountants, we have to figure out, okay, we know our compliance that we can charge for. What is all this intangible thing? What are the intangible things that we bring to the table that we can add in? So I just wrote an article for onpay recently. Shout out to onpay. I do a lot of articles for them and work for them, but it was actually called finding the intangible value in your practice. So if anybody ever wants to find it. I really break down a lot of the things, hey, you offer this, and you don't just need to be like me and offer it out of the kindness of your heart, like charge for it and stand behind it and know it's a value you're giving to your client.

Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. I'm, um, a part of a mastermind, and they have price raising exercises and it seems easy on paper. You, you know, watch the training and, oh, just go and raise prices. But there was a lot of blocks mentally, before even I went and did that, like, where I had to get on board mentally knowing, okay, I. I am able to do this, and I'm investing in myself and in the business. And that needs to be reflected in our prices and the value we're providing clients. It's scary, but it was one of the best things I think we ever did and everything worked out. And when you look at the math, like you said, you can have less clients, you can make either the same or more. You have more margin of time, you have more margin on the bottom line. I think everyone should be doing it at least once a year, uh, of raising their prices and not be scared to go back to the clients that are probably on, like the pricing when you first came into business and it's the friends and family that's discounted three times. No, like, bring everyone up to what the bare minimum is. If they leave, I don't know, they m. They don't value what you're doing, and that's fine. You'll find someone else who does. There's enough clients out there.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I think it's been a long process for me to get there because of that imposter syndrome. And I was on a podcast yesterday and they asked me, how do you overcome imposter syndrome? And I thought it was funny because I actually used to YouTube videos of how to have confidence. And I would sit in my little room at my old house, tiny, and watch these videos of how to have confidence. And I mean I was looking for a magical answer, but the answer is the same. You have to do it. You have to do those things that scare, that scare you. And then as my husband would say, he's a big BMX or extreme accountant on Instagram. He's amazing. He always says you've got to do two to make it true. So um, you know, it's so funny, we're so opposite. He's Mr. Risk Taker, Mr. Get After It. And then I'm like that traditional accountant that like don't kind of risk averse. I don't like rejection. I hate failure. I'm a perfectionist. So having to actually for me, writing down what I do, writing down what else I offer, looking at what other people offer, you know, comparing, okay, this person's saying they will do transcript monitoring and this person saying they'll do quarterly calls and let me book all this in and let me just write it down. But then you're right, there's a whole different thing of you put out some discovery calls because that's another thing that you know you're not just going to fire all your clients or raise them so much that they're like freak out. So you gotta try it on some potential clients and so you gotta do those discovery calls. And I mean I'll never forget sitting on those first calls for those first few months and telling them my new price and just like struggling for it to come. Oh, we do packages and you know, the mid tier package is going to be about now, I don't quote on the call anymore. I, I personally like to build the quote after. But if they ask what's a general range? I can say the general range without feeling like I'm um, gonna barf. So it takes practice, it's taken some

Speaker A: time and uh, I think that's the thing, right. It's just all the at bats and it takes time and you just, you need to put yourself out there and you need to go through the repetition. What worked really well for us and some advice that was passed along around the raising prices. Unfortunately everyone has clients that they, someone, someone's gotta be probably the Lowest on the totem pole that maybe they don't like to work with the most or they're the most challenging. Whatever it is, start with that client. Because then if you feel like you lose them, it's not a big loss to the firm. No problem. And if you win, amazing. That's a huge bonus. And then, just like you mentioned, keep kind of showing up and just getting more comfortable with it. I would love to know, for those who are watching the podcast and not just listening, I would love to hear a little bit about the. The chair in the back of the frames that looks like.

Speaker B: What is he gonna break?

Speaker A: He want me to share out of a, uh, Hollywood set.

Speaker B: Well, thank you for bringing that up, because this is, like, oh, so close to me. Love the chair. I'm a part of an amazing public speaking group for women. So if any of women are listening to this, if you've heard of it, it's called the theater of public speaking. Misty Mejia is, you know, kind of the founder. Krista, she's her partner. And then there's so many amazing women in accounting that have done it, um, that are in the community. There's a lot of other women that are in accounting, but in general, it's a public speaking program. And I got the chair at my advanced cohort, where I got certified with my advanced, you know, certification. So it's really helped me. You said, you know, you saw me at Grow Con, and it's really helped me kind of build that side, because that is one of my passions is teaching. I love to educate. I love to speak. I'm just. If you can't tell, I'm, uh, a kind of a chatty, Chatty Kathy. I'm the extroverted accountant on Instagram. Little plug for myself. I have some really fun videos on there. So anyone listening, go check that out. But, yeah, I like to talk and teach. So the chair is just kind of a little signature piece of my. Of my speaking journey.

Speaker A: Awesome. It's. It's a cool piece to the office. That's different from.

Speaker B: I need a better lamp, though. Lamp kind of. Grandma, we gotta. We gotta switch out the lamp.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's not cool enough.

Speaker B: Gotta be more modern.

Speaker A: Would you say taking those courses and lessons to become a better public speaker, did that help you, like, absolutely shatter the imposter syndrome? Or is there a new level of imposter syndrome, where, oh, now I'm on stages, or now I'm on bigger stages. Is this me? I'd love to hear kind of your. Your take on that.

Speaker B: So it depends on the person, what you're going to need to do to push yourself past, you know, that point where you can, because you have to get to the edge. For me, that was speaking and it was just because I started finally attending conferences, which was actually another way of helping me get through my imposter syndrome was up until, you know, I would say maybe three or three years ago, ish, I wasn't able to attend conferences. I had really small children. Um, my husband was working full time job. Now he's full time at Flair. He's an ea. He's like everything. But back then he was still going to his full time job. And so I, I didn't have the ability to leave. There weren't a lot of communities at that time. Now there's a lot more. And so going to these events and, you know, joining communities. Now there's podcasts. We can all find out that we're kind of all the same. Like, I'm not the only one who struggles. I'm not the only one who thinks I shouldn't charge for my research because I don't know it and I shouldn't charge if I don't know it. When in reality you should be charging because you are detail oriented and you're showing the client that you care enough to spend your time to make sure that it's correct. That's a side tangent, but yeah. So for me, as I started going to conferences, I saw the speakers up there and I was like, wait, that person's, you know, an enrolled agent. I'm an enrolled agent and a cpa and I have a master's in tax. Like, why am I not doing that? Because I love to speak and talk to people and teach. So I had the thought, but then again, actually doing it, oh my gosh, it's terrifying. You should have seen me. Even now, as I have taken training, I've done several, several conferences. Like, it's not new, but even backstage at Grocon, I was literally like, like hyperventilating a little. You know, I was like, oh my gosh. Because, uh, it was a big stage and a lot of people, but it was amazing at the same time. So I think whatever your thing is that you wish in your heart you could do, you're like, oh, uh, no, I can't. Oh, no. It's like, that's what's really going to help you beat it.

Speaker A: Yeah, just take, just facing it head on.

Speaker B: Yeah. And that's why my husband has nothing. No, because he's an extreme BMX writer. So he'll do like, I mean, Olympic, uh, size courses, right? Like he does like vert half pipes that are massive. So every single week he's facing any type of fear. He has to be really present in the moment. He's got like great body control. And a lot of the times when I have an issue, he'll relate it back to BMX and doing something scary because like his whole life he's done those scary things. But if you're not accustomed to it like me, because I've always needed to feel safe, it's a lot harder to kind of step out and do that.

Speaker A: Well, you heard it here first. To get over imposter syndrome. Hit, hit the half pipe. Get a huge, huge bird on the bike. Yeah, perfect. BMX half pipes and accounting go. So hand in hand. That's what I think.

Speaker B: Well, I mean, he's an extreme accountant and we actually have really cool clients. He's. We've got some cool clients because they're like, you know, even cool, like extreme Olympic athletes. We got a couple of those. Like, those people need help with their taxes too. So, you know, like, you got to be open minded and be yourself. Right? Because like he used to ask me on the first client calls, do I need to put up a button up shirt? Do I need to dress up for this? And I'm like, oh, no, that's not our firm anymore. That was like the old Merritt who was trying to impress. Now it's like if they don't realize that we like wear T shirts when we're working, like, I'm not going to show up in a bathrobe. But you know, I'm like, we don't need to like look like a, a nerdy bean counter at the keyboard. We can show a little personality. It's fine.

Speaker A: Yeah, Yeah. I love that you're just, just being yourself and you're attracting who you want to work with, not, not the other way around. So what's the, the thing most firm owners get wrong when they try to push through imposter syndrome on their own?

Speaker B: So I actually have a friend who does this where they are very much like, know that they have, they, they know that they have issues. They don't believe in themselves. They're not charging enough, they're getting walked all over. And I think the issue is that there's a lot of complaining and negativity. And I think that's, you said circling the drain and that's what it is. It's like when you're trying to push through it yourself. You have to really continue to try to find those positive, uh, even more than just positive, you have to like, quit talking and do the work. I think that's what it is. Because there will be like reaching out, being like, oh, you know, like you can reach out and ask people for their advice and oh, and I need help with this. And just my clients are so awful and all of these things. But if you're not actually taking those steps to change it, you know, and really, really sitting down and making an actionable plan, then you're just not going to get very far. Because, uh, especially as accountants, we have a lot of the same stuff we have to do every day. Clients take up a lot of our time. You have to like, take that extra time. You know, when I was writing out all my packages and changing my whole business, I wasn't doing it during working hours. So it's like you have to actually set aside additional time and make it your, like, focus. You're like, I'm, um, not just gonna say I want out of it. I'm like, doing it and take other people's advice. Don't ask for it and then not do it because that's just annoying and people will stop giving you advice at some point. Stay with us.

Speaker A: We'll be right back.

Speaker C: If you're enjoying this week's episode of the Accounting Leads now podcast, please do me a quick favor. Subscribe to the show and leave us a review. It takes 30 seconds and it's the single biggest thing you can do to help us keep growing and reaching more firm owners. It makes a bigger difference than you think. And if you're serious about taking your firm to the next level, head to accountingleadsnow.com and book a call with our team. We'll do a full audit of how you're showing up online when your future clients search for the services you offer, show you how you stack up against your competition, and give you three actionable strategies to dominate your local market.

Speaker A: That's yours, regardless.

Speaker C: Now we only take on a handful of firms at a time, so we can go all in on results. If you're a good fit, we'll talk about what it would look like to work together and potentially make you, uh, our next best case study. Alright, let's get back to this week's episode.

Speaker A: That is also very true. So given this is a marketing podcast as well for accounting firms, how is Flare Financial growing? What's working well for you to attract new clients? 12 months of the Year.

Speaker B: Well, don't we love. First of all, shout out to accountants that, like, we don't have to market as hard as anyone as everyone else. I feel I really have never had to try too hard to market because everybody needs a cpa. But that is changing. With AI, there's a lot more automation, so we have had to shift and adapt. And I actually got the best advice, James, at growcon, because I was talking to multiple people and how they were growing their firms because there were quite a few people there with bigger firms than me. Right. And so I was like, tell me your secret. And I thought it was great. Um, talking to Tyler Otto. Have you met Tyler?

Speaker A: I don't believe we've met. Shaking hands. I'm definitely familiar with with Tyler Spaz.

Speaker B: Shout out to Tyler. But we're both from Utah, so Tyler is known as the hotel accountant. He got one of the seven figure awards at Grow Con. So I feel like I can say that because it was like the award he won on stage for. And so I was like, tyler, how did you do it? And apparently he has niched into hotels, so niching, I think is always helpful for marketing. Right. But then on top of that, he just said he started going to hotel industry conferences. And it took a little while, but people were like, hey, that's the hotel. I'm the hotel accountant guy. And they're like, cool, we don't care. And then the next year they're like, oh, yeah, that you're the hotel accountant guy. Right. And then the next year it's like, oh, do you need a hotel accountant guy? And so for me, I really think that niching is probably super important. And then actually going to, like, in person events, which is kind of crazy to say. I have another friend who, who grew her practice massive because she spoke at one conference and it was a. I, uh, don't want to say too much, but it was for a certain part of the trades. And she spoke at one of the conferences at the trades, and you don't even have to speak, but it's just like, find that market that you want to attract and then you have to let them know that you're available. So it's kind of like in sales, you've got to be like, I need the per. Like, the person has to be able to find you. Right? So you have to make yourself visible. Which I talk to accountants a lot is like, make yourself visible. And so I guess actually circling back, I never really had to try to market because I've always made myself visible. I'm like a very outgoing person. I'm on social media. I try to meet and talk to people, make yourself visible. And then I would say never sell them something that you can't get behind because if you're behind it, then you know they're going to referrals and the marketing becomes really easy because you're behind what you're selling.

Speaker A: I love it. I mean, showing up to in person events is absolute dynamite way to attract new clients. And like you said, might not happen the very first time you're there, might not happen the second time. But if you're consistent and you're showing up and you're at all the different events and you're in those circles, all of a sudden your name starts coming up in conversations when you're not around. And that's really where you start to see a snowball effect. So whatever industries you're working in, find what, where your ideal clients are hanging out and make sure you're getting in front of those rooms. So that's, that's great advice. And then the other piece you touched on making yourself visible. There's so many firms that are the best kept secret in their town or they're sitting, they're wondering why they're not getting clients and the competitors above them, who they dislike are. It's like they're visible, they're, they're the ones who are going to get the phone calls when someone searches accountant near me. So visibility is always going to win.

Speaker B: And uh, accountant, accountants don't like that and they don't want to do that. And so they either won't do it at all or they'll do just like the bare minimum of like. Well, I made a post on social media and it's like making a social media post is not marketing, right? Like if you're gonna use social media as a marketing platform, which again, I'm not a marketing genius, it's been hard for me to figure out, but I'm getting there. But like, you have to have a plan on how you're gonna do that. You have to do it strategically. Just like throwing some posts at the wall and hoping you're gonna get clients. You might get a couple dms and you might get a couple clients, but they might not be your niche, they might not be the income level that you want, the type that you want. So I have found, yeah. That the in person events helps you really narrow down like who you want to actually work with. But you can do social media, but you got to, you got to like do it intentionally. Otherwise just a waste of time.

Speaker A: For those listening, just hit uh, hit the rewind button a couple times on what was, what was just said there. Putting a post out is, is not going to bring in clients and make a million dollar firm. You got to be super intentional, consistent and it's gotta be in front of the right people. You can't just put out a post and if it's just your parents and friends seeing it, it's not gonna convert to dollars in the bank. Last question for you. What is the number one actionable piece of advice you'd give the listener when this episode is done? They need to go and implement to better their firm, better themselves, better their overall being.

Speaker B: So I think the actionable piece to better your firm. This is great. I actually gave this advice at Grow Con. It's been a big game changer for me, but it's a hard one. You guys just trust me on this. You have to put aside each week at least a half of a day to focus on your own firm or your own self development. You uh, need to do that actually and I guess even for both. Like I was telling my husband this morning that ever since I've I, it used to just be firm in kids. Firm and kids. I started taking piano lessons. My kids are getting older now so I can actually go to yoga at a studio instead of in my room. I am speaking. I'm um, writing for onpay. I'm working on another project that I can't quite talk about yet, but follow my Instagram the Extroverted Accountant because I'm going to drop it soon. But having all of those other pieces that aren't actually helping me and my self growth and then focusing that time. I have a full Friday. Like sometimes I let it get booked out with other things, but I try to put aside the Friday every week for my speaking, my writing, doing our own firms books, working on our own firm's marketing and growth, checking in with the employees, making sure they're okay. So I think that's what you can do, even though it seems impossible. It was actually Misty Mejia from the Theater of Public Speaking who said you should block out every Friday in 2026. And I was like I can't do that. But I just did it because we were still in 25 and it's proven to be the best thing ever. So make sure that you're taking that time to focus on growth for yourself and in your firm. You can start doing that even though you think you can't you can, and it will translate into just helping you in every way. You can't just let your clients suck up your life and actually. Side tangent. Roger Connect and I were talking about AI in your firm, which that podcast will drop in a little while. But he was talking, we were both talking about how you can use AI as like, employees to get your time back. So when you're using, when you have trained AI to do some of those compliance tasks and you know that it's doing it well, you should have that extra time now and you can focus on your client relationships and focus on other things. So I think it's just being really smart m with your time and making sure that you're just not having it all sucked away into just like the same stuff day after day.

Speaker A: I love it. Great advice. Thank you so much, Marie, and I really appreciate you stopping by coming on the podcast. I'm excited to see you get on more stages in the future, excited to catch up, hopefully at some conferences in person as well, because we're, we're at the same one, but we, we miss each other there. Um, so we'll definitely have to connect at the next one. And again, thank you so much for coming by. Where can people find you and get in touch if they want to continue the conversation with you?

Speaker B: Yeah, so I mentioned my Instagram and then I also have a LinkedIn, so you can just find me on both of those social platforms. My personal website is undergoing maintenance, so just find me on LinkedIn or, um, Instagram the Extroverted Accountant or Marit Bermudcpa.

Speaker A: Perfect. I love it. Thank you so much for stopping by. I really appreciate it.

Speaker B: Thank you.

Speaker A: That's a wrap on another episode of the Accounting Leads now podcast. If you got something out of today's conversation, do me a favor. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave us a review wherever you're listening. It genuinely helps this show grow. And the bigger this community gets, the better the conversations we can bring you. Now, here's the part I actually care about most. If you're running a firm and you're still relying on word of mouth to bring in new clients, I want you to hear this. Referrals aren't a growth strategy. I'll say that again. Referrals are not a growth strategy. They're a hope strategy. If you're ready to stop hoping and start building a system that brings qualified prospects to you consistently, go to accountingleadsnow.com and book A, uh, call with my team. We work exclusively with accounting, bookkeeping and tax firms. We'll look at your situation specifically and tell you what we would do if it was our firm on the line for bringing in new clients. And if you want to go deeper on your own first, I wrote a book called Booked Solid Digital Marketing Strategies that actually work for Accounting firms. It's the Digital Marketing Playbook built specifically for accounting, bookkeeping and tax firms. Link to Grab a Copy is in the Show Notes. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you on the next one.