Introducing DBA Firm: Operational Support for Accounting Firms

In this episode, Marcus and Rachel dive into the details of DBA Firm, a new venture aimed at providing operational support to accounting firms with revenues between $500k-$5M and 3-30 employees. They discuss the origins of DBA Firm, the key pillars of structure, strategy, and software, and how their own experiences transforming their accounting practice inspired them to help other firm owners. Learn about the resources, events, and support DBA Firm offers to help small-to-mid-sized accounting firms improve and grow.

Learn More About Dillon Business Advisors
https://www.dillonadvisors.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dillonbusinessadvisors

Sign up to get free CPE for listening to this podcast

https://earmarkcpe.com

Download the Earmark CPE App
 
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

• (00:00) - Welcome to Who's Really The Boss?
• (00:53) - Family Updates: Avery's Journey
• (02:30) - Avery's College Decision
• (03:39) - Impact on Family Dynamics
• (07:17) - Transition to DBA Firm Discussion
• (08:10) - Origins of the Podcast
• (09:46) - Transforming DBA: From Tax to Advisory
• (10:44) - Supporting the Accounting Community
• (16:20) - What is DBA?
• (21:38) - DBA Firm Resources and Events
• (32:32) - Introducing GRIP: Goal Ready Implementation Plan
• (45:55) - Conclusion and Future Plans

Creators & Guests

Host

Marcus Dillon, CPA

Host

Rachel Dillon

What is Who's Really the BOSS??

"Who's Really the BOSS?" highlights the joys and challenges of running a CPA firm with your spouse or family. From hiring and terminating to improving capacity, cash flow, and culture, our conversations cover leadership, operations, and current accounting industry challenges. Our mission is to strengthen families and accounting firms by helping listeners avoid the mistakes we have made, so they can lead and live happily ever after.

There may be errors in spelling, grammar, and accuracy in this machine-generated transcript.

Rachel Dillon: Hi, I'm Rachel Dillon, and together with my husband, Marcus Dillon, we lead Who's Really the Boss podcast, where we highlight the joys and challenges of running a business with your spouse or family. Our mission is to strengthen families and businesses by helping listeners avoid the mistakes we have made so they can lead and.Live happily ever after.

Rachel Dillon: Welcome back to another [00:00:30] episode of Who's Really the Boss podcast.

Marcus Dillon: Hey, thanks for having me back.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, so fun to be talking again today and wanted to start this episode, which this episode we're going to talk about what is DBA Ferm. So we talk a lot about Dylan Business Advisors and what we do there with our team and our clients. Um, but today we're talking about what is DBA Ferm. However, we cannot forget our youngest child. So the last episode we gave an update on [00:01:00] Kinley, our oldest, and this episode we definitely need to give an update on Avery, who has by now finished her junior year, which officially makes her a senior in high school.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, so I'm sure for her, senioritis is already set in, even though she works hard and does a lot of extracurricular stuff. Um, she's already got her schedule for next year. It's not a full day. Um, so it'll be interesting to see how her summer leading into senior year will go. [00:01:30] And just, uh, we couldn't be more proud of her. You know, obviously, we share a lot about her and her swimming and things like that. But, um, part of what we did over the last few months was travel a little bit with her, not only to swim meets, but to college recruiting visits and, um, just being there for her as she made that, you know, big decision on where she was going to go to school and helping her navigate those recruiting conversations. And where do you really see yourself and trying not to impose [00:02:00] too much on what we wanted? Uh, but really let her decide where she saw herself in college.

Rachel Dillon: I think really, we, uh, totally imposed our wants and desires on her. And we really wanted her to stay closer to home, which living in Texas, close to home, really kind of means that you have to be in Texas and not West Texas from where we live, because that you might as well be in a few other states. And so, [00:02:30] um, she was offered the opportunity to swim at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, um, for four years. She is getting, uh, her schooling paid for. And so she accepted that opportunity. And we were so excited, um, that she will be close ish to home. So about four hours away. And again, she still has one more year of high school, so she's gotta she's gotta, you know, keep her grades and do great things in swimming [00:03:00] for this next year. But, um, she is excited for the opportunity to be a horned frog, uh, starting fall of 2025.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. Uh, TCU is a great spot for her. It's in Fort Worth. Fort worth is the fun kind of, uh, little town off to the side of Dallas. It's actually like the 13th or 14th largest city in the US. Um, but it's attached to a big city in Dallas. Right? Kind of like Katy is to Houston. But, um, so we're excited for her. She's an hour away [00:03:30] from Waco, which Baylor, where our other daughter is and four hours from from us, where we currently live. Um, and so that's all fun stuff. And now that she's made her decision, it kind of helps us as potential or soon to be empty nesters, make some decisions on our side. Um, because both girls have been pretty vocal that they have no desire to move back to where they went to high school. Um, so it's good. It's it's good to have that decision down. And like you said, [00:04:00] TCU made it very easy. They they pursued her. They wanted her as like a top recruit. And so the offer for you know her to essentially uh come to work at TCU and earn that tuition uh was a good one. Uh, we felt so.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah that's exciting. And something fun about TCU is that their colors are purple, as is our high school here that both girls attended, and [00:04:30] also their competitive swim team that they've been part of since, uh, you know, like 11 years. I think she's been a part of that team. And so, um, purple is just running strong in our family. So we've, I guess, learned to love it and will continue to love it for a little bit longer. And, um, super excited about that. The other thing I guess, is that's worth noting is we asked Avery if she would be okay if we moved to Fort Worth, what would she think [00:05:00] about us moving to Fort Worth? And she was, um, maybe she was being nice. I'm not sure. But she said, come on, I'd love it. So she she was fully on board with us, moving close to her and even being, you know, closer to the swimming pool than than she will be in her dorm. She was good with that. So maybe she is, uh, you know, not super excited about leaving the nest yet, but anyway. Maybe she likes us. I'm not sure what [00:05:30] that means, but.

Marcus Dillon: I think we're a safe space for her. And I think the other piece there is, like their swim schedule as far as practice and traveling and everything. She will never be able to come home. Uh, you know, as, as that's kind of been laid out, uh, maybe at Christmas break, but not really any other times. So you kind of have to go to where the kids are is what we're learning later on in life. Uh, which is great. You know, it's kind of being able to run a business that is virtual or remote, [00:06:00] serving clients in a remote or virtual way. It gives a lot of freedom, um, on where we can see ourselves, um, long term. So a lot of excitement, um, at the Dylan house with that. And kind of the last thing that we'll say about that is after Avery was given this opportunity and accepted, um, the scholarships and everything like that, she does have money in a 529 account. So our older daughter, uh, you want to say you want to talk about what she said? As soon as she learned that [00:06:30] Avery was getting school paid for?

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, as soon as a as soon as we announced that Avery would have her college paid for, Kinley immediately said all of that money could go to her and then immediately asked for a brand new Bronco. So that's kind of the the, um, chain of events that happened once Avery accepted the offer to go to TCU is that now older sister thinks, well, excellent. The family [00:07:00] is saving money with one. So now I should be given all of the rest of the savings and additional expensive gifts because there's, I guess, cash flow open. Open, I don't know.

Marcus Dillon: Well, I don't know where they learned that kind of mentality from. So. All right. So let's talk a little bit about what we've been building in the background. Uh, obviously we just wrapped up the conversation how our tax season or busy season ended up through [00:07:30] April 15th of 2024. Uh, but in addition to tax season, busy season, we've just had some stuff going on. We've been building in the background and been, uh, listening to our friends who are looking for resources and different ways to improve themselves. And, um, you know, it's been about seven months in the making as far as, you know, just really building things out. So DBA ferm is kind of the topic of discussion today and how it sits and what's available today [00:08:00] and maybe what a little bit of the future looks like. So I'll let you kind of kick off some questions and I'll try my best to answer as it sits today.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. Well, currently the podcast does speak to accounting firm owners and leaders and other accountants. So our industry peers. But when we started the podcast almost three years ago, that wasn't the original group or the original audience that we thought we would be talking to. And so it's a little [00:08:30] bit about when the podcast originally started, who did we think that it would be for?

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, we thought we would be able to support clients or prospective clients, uh, kind of our ICP or ideal client profile, um, the referral partners that support those clients or prospects. Um, but what we saw pretty early on was the people that were listening, the people that were paying the most attention were friends of ours and the accounting space and peers. And, um, we started [00:09:00] to shift conversations over to, hey, this is what we're doing in our firm. This is what we're learning. Um, I love dental clients, but I, I know the pain points of a CPA firm a little bit better than I do, uh, working in a maybe a dental office every day. And so, um, we just kind of turned the mic or the microscope onto ourselves and really just started dissecting it and publicly talking about what we're going through. And, um, that continued to build an audience to where we're at today and [00:09:30] the partners we have, um, and we're happy to do it. I think as long as we're useful and serving people in a way that we feel called to do, um, we'll continue talking, you know, until someone takes the mic away.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So we've spent a lot of time in DBA, transforming that firm from a kind of legacy traditional tax firm to a monthly recurring services, accounting and advisory services firm. [00:10:00] And so what we started doing is just kind of sharing how we serve clients. And that really attracted other accounting professionals, because some of the things that came with how we serve those clients was increased revenue, fewer clients, um, no overtime, amazing team members. Like, literally we have the best team. So just talking through, you know, just sharing the things that we were doing and what the results and what was happening. [00:10:30] That's some of the things. And I think that's why we started attracting other accountants, because that sounds pretty great, especially coming out of January through April. That's not something that you really see. And so, um, really felt called to helping people, obviously in the industry that we're in, but also felt called to providing a space for our peers in the accounting industry to come and get real life [00:11:00] answers and also real life challenges that happened, maybe before they even start a process, make a mistake, whatever that might be. Just trying to help pave a smoother path. And these conversations were happening one on one. Just they were happening through emails or messages. They were happening when we would see people at events and different places out phone calls, but they weren't really happening in any kind of a [00:11:30] group setting. They definitely weren't happening in what you would call like an efficient manner. Um, because they were kind of one off requests and questions. And while we loved sharing, as we started noticing the same, like a trend of what types of questions, what types of requests, what types of conversations where we having, we just decided like, this is a better idea. Let's do this in a place where people can get access to this and [00:12:00] they don't have to wait for, you know, one of us to be available.

Marcus Dillon: I think we spun up, um, we kind of talked through that mid-year last year, and I was like, listen, we've we've got to give, you know, resources to our friends. And we kind of spun up the DBA, Ferm website underneath Dylan Advisors. And it was, you know, built out professionally and, um, kind of attached as a page. It all flows like we are a real CPA firm. So this is not [00:12:30] theory. This is day to day the life of. And it gives us you know, it gives us, um, a, a feeling that goes beyond like client service, I think, or at least I can say that for myself that I'm able to help, like my peers with that. And so we spun up that website in just an attempt to give out some resources and kind of talk to the different pain points that maybe we were walking through, the decisions that we had to make and just being transparent [00:13:00] about what was going really, you know, what was going right and what was going wrong. Um, instead of just speaking or teaching on theory. And people began to follow that journey, you know, whether it was through my, um, speaking engagements or different events that I was a part of, they they kind of latched on to the real world, um, case study that is DBA. So, you know, over the last, uh, two years, we continue to lead into that even more, um, and [00:13:30] kind of determine where this is.

Marcus Dillon: This is going. And the team that we have in place is really, um, like you said, we've if we've done anything throughout our professional career is we've continued to hire really solid team members. And the people who stay at DBA are within our businesses long term. Um, they just they get it. And I think they have that servant leadership, whether it's a [00:14:00] dental client or whether it's a CPA firm friend who's trying to figure it out for their team and their client base. So what we have kind of evolved into now at DBA, Ferm is not only is this podcast really trying to help, um, bring people along the journey and kind of make sure that we're leaving people better off in our own industry, but it's also allowed us to host webinars on our different model. Um, you know, the team [00:14:30] of three model, which is more of like a structure. Um, we also have the three kind of core pillars are structure, strategy and software. As far as what we feel called to speak into. And um, team of three is is structure. Right. And I think that with the right operational support, with the right structure for your team, then you can do great things. That's what we've seen in our business. That's how we've evolved from a very heavy tax practice to a cash firm. Um, and what [00:15:00] we would define as successful.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. And so that I think is exactly what we saw when we were looking at what are the similarities in the types of things that people are either. Like what types of challenges that they're facing, or what types of questions or where our conversations are leading. They were going each time to strategy, structure and software. And so we really leaned into that like, okay, well, what do we do for [00:15:30] structure? Like what has set up DBA for success in all of the fruit that has come from DBA? And so we looked at kind of our team of three structure. We looked at strategy. How did we go from 80% tax revenue to 20% tax revenue. How did we completely flip that and turn 80% of our revenue to come from monthly recurring? And then what softwares have helped us along the way? Because without those, our team couldn't work efficiently like they [00:16:00] do and effectively like they do, um, without working like overtime or burning people out and constantly, you know, revolving door of team members. And so really looked at those things. So if you had to define DBA ferm in like five words or less, what would you say? Dba Ferm is.

Marcus Dillon: So DBA Ferm is operational support for CPA firms. And I just I come back to operations. Is that key word. Um, [00:16:30] and we hired, uh, the best director of operations in Amy McCarty. And she's taught us so much like over the years. But even now, since she's been within DBA, we don't like our team, like I mentioned, like they are. They're the best thing about us, right? And so we don't want to hang on to that skill set that they bring just to our team and have only us or our client base benefit from that. We [00:17:00] want to share that with others. And so, um, I think that's part of it. Like with her coming on board, we we saw that everything that we're doing and kind of fine tuning and and firming up, if you will, it's so much better to share that with others and give people a road map versus keep it hidden. And whenever we think about operations, that entails so much, you know, of a business, I mean, it it impacts, you know, team [00:17:30] HR or, uh, sales, you know, decisions on client base. It can really be all encompassing. And director of ops or operations is not a typical position in most CPA firms. And who we feel called to serve. Are our firms that were or are, you know, similar to us. So anybody that's running a firm that's 500,000 to 5 million, um, really could [00:18:00] get a lot out of, you know, this journey that we're on.

Rachel Dillon: I always think about this meme when I think about DBA Ferm, there's a meme out that says when you realize you're the adult in the room, but you're looking for an adulterer, adult like you don't feel like the adult in the room, but realize you're the adult in the room and should be in control of the situation. But you're like, looking for, okay, what other adult in here does it better than I do? It always makes me [00:18:30] think of DBA verm like when you're the owner of a firm, but you're like, who do I ask all of these questions to? I've never faced this problem. I've never been in this situation. I've never led a team of this size or this revenue, or this many clients or this type of service. And I think that's what DBA firm provides, is it really provides that support, that guidance of people who have walked through this and people who have walked other people through those same challenges and [00:19:00] scenarios. Um, and really just being able, again, to just multiply out that experience, that knowledge, those resources. Um, and like we always say, get ROI on our mistakes that we've made along the way so that they're not failures, but, um, just opportunities for learning and then that learning, we in turn share with others.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And I think you just go back to like our background, our belief system. And, you know, this is, um, this is [00:19:30] a verse that, you know, you give freely and become more wealthy. And so I think that's kind of the bedrock of why we do what we do. And, you know, I think whenever you kind of peel back, like what's in it for us is our teams also getting a lot of support in, in being in this environment and teaching others kind of as player coach, um, maybe giving them options to develop further than if they were just within a, within one firm. Um, and I think [00:20:00] that's the piece where it doesn't matter, you know, how much we, we have, it matters what we do with what we are given. And when I, when I think about, like, the team and what we've been given there, it's like, how do you how do you really amplify and expand the impact that they have throughout on other firms, the leadership of those firms, the teams within those firms, and then even the clients who are going to be served by those leaders and those teams within those firms. Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: And if we're [00:20:30] throwing out biblical principles here, I will say that DBA firm is really built around a few different verses, but one, um, that I often think about, uh, especially when people ask like, why are y'all doing so many of these things for free? Like, what's the angle or what's the point? Or why do you continue to share? I really think about, um, Galatians six nine and it says, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. [00:21:00] And so really what we're doing, like we are not going to get tired of doing good and sharing with our friends like we've already been there, done that. Or if we haven't been there, done that, we want to hear that you've been there, done that. So it will make our journey better. Um, we will always get it back tenfold if we continue to do what is right and to share, um, just being generous again, like you said, with what we've been given and what we've had the opportunity [00:21:30] to experience, have the opportunity to be responsible for and to care for, um, we always want to share that back with others.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So let's let's talk a little bit about if people are still trekking with us, um, after we kind of, you know, went Sunday morning on them, but. Let's kind of talk about what we currently do today within DBA firm, which is, is is a division or uh, a sister, if you will, of DBA, the actual accounting firm. So as of today, [00:22:00] we've talked about this podcast, we've talked about webinars. What else is DBA doing right now for sure.

Rachel Dillon: Free resources. And so we say free. What we do want to know is who's looking at those resources and benefiting from those resources. Because we may tap you one day to ask right for your help as well. And so we just want to we just want to see who we're helping, um, and kind of keep track of that. But free resources [00:22:30] are available. All it requires is your name and email. Um, and then you can download anything that we've put out there. Uh, in addition to that, we had an amazing opportunity to get together with our friends, um, in at the end of April. So wrapped up that tax season we talked about on the previous episode and then immediately went into a time of celebration and learning and kind of refocusing with a group of our friends who [00:23:00] are currently enrolled in that DBA, Ferm resources.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So that was that was a great, you know, culmination of months of building in the background and, um, sharing with friends to say, hey, we're going to create this space where we can dive deeper on what you are working on. You'll learn from us and hear from our team on this model. And if you have questions, we're happy. It's easier to answer those in person. So, uh, we hosted [00:23:30] that and brought in, um, about 60 friends, uh, opted in to, to travel for that. And unlike any other conference or event, maybe they'll go to this summer. Um, those those friends are actually leaders in firms. So it's not somebody that is is stacking an event with influencers or anything of that nature. Like, these are people that are running firms on a daily basis. We had two sponsors or vendors [00:24:00] in the room, and they were more listening and helping than anything, and we made that very well known that as this was not a sales opportunity, it was more of a listening and developing opportunity for them individually. And one of those, um, you know, both of those were very close with an ignition and keeper, uh, Chad over at keeper, he's a CPA, so he got CPE hours for being there. And so, um, he was learning just as much. And I think he had a great quote. If he would have known that there were firms like [00:24:30] this before he left public, he would have actually probably stayed in public longer. So, um, the way that we did that is we offered that up to the people that were in our resources because we released resources and spoke to these resources, whether it's on webinars or podcasts. And we were still getting questions. And so we said, okay, let's take it a step further and have this event and get people together and collectively have them in the room, so to speak. So we gave [00:25:00] our subscribers, if you will, that opportunity. And within a week we sold out all the seats that were available. We pulled ten additional people off of the waitlist and filled out the room a little bit beyond capacity.

Rachel Dillon: And like every seat, there was not one additional seat available in the room. So it was, uh, it was a great turnout.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So over those two couple of days, we ate well, we, you know, had great Tex-Mex. We had [00:25:30] great, you know, crumble, if you will. Protein different things. Uh, people enjoyed themselves, but we did a lot of work. So it was, um, diving deep into things that were going on in their firms and kind of just creating the space where they could go deeper and really have discussion with peers and facilitating that, if you will. So that's that's what we were able to do in April. Um, the feedback from that continues to be coming in and positive. I would say if you're [00:26:00] interested in learning more about that event or future events and you're not in our resources, go out and, um, sign up for resources. And I think, you know, you can probably give people the best way to do that if you know the website off the top of your head.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely. You just go to Dylan advisors.com and click on the tab DBA firm. And it'll take you right to the form to enroll in resources. Kind of near the bottom of that page. Uh, but just in case, because you said if you're not interested [00:26:30] and the only way I think you're not interested is if you really don't fully understand what happened in that room. And so while, yes, some of our leaders and our team, actually a lot of our team members, where they are present in that room and presenting, um, also built into that was one special session where we asked for the attendees to actually give us topics that they wanted to cover in, like a People's Choice session. So [00:27:00] that was actually a session that was determined by the people who were who were going to be in attendance. And then two other sessions that happened over those two days, um, were advanced study sessions. So think of it as a round table where you talk and process information with other leaders from all over the country. We had people in attendance from Alaska to Arizona, California all the way to Maine and Florida and every [00:27:30] state in between. And so it was really a great time. But to get a lot of perspectives from people who are all trying to grow great firms to hire and retain and really take great care of their teams and to provide exceptional service to their clients. And so that's really kind of the, um. The similarity or the connecting factor there. For all of the [00:28:00] people who are in the room, are those ferm owners and leaders that really just want to make the best ferm one for themselves, right? To have a great place and a great business and a great asset to have. And then also for all of the people that are in their care, both on the team side and the client side.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And there was 40 different firms represented in that gathering. Um, so a lot of different experience and a lot of different experience levels. Um, a lot of knowledge. Share. And, and [00:28:30] we loved that size of room. We'll probably keep it at room capacity next time. Um, just so people feel like they have a little bit more room to roam.

Rachel Dillon: Um, just meaning that waitlist isn't going to be there necessarily for the next time for call ups. That waitlist will only be there. Um, if. Something happens and there's an emergency and someone can't attend. But I know really the information that [00:29:00] each attendee received from the firm owners in attendance, so from attendee to attendee, was invaluable. The things that we present, yes, they were already interested and knew about, but the things that they learned from other firm owners just by being in the room, that was bonus. That wasn't something that was an expectation or something that they even thought was a possibility. It just wasn't a thought before they came to that event.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And we [00:29:30] peeled back, you know, the curtain, um, let people ask hard questions to not only us, but our team. We gave live demos, um, on how I would rank clients, and they saw real client names and they saw how much people pay us. And they asked, you know, why does that endodontist pay you so much? And it's like, well, they should pay us more, actually. So I think those are the those are the type of conversations that you get in that, uh, more intimate setting. And there's a place in the world for the big conferences, if you will, and, [00:30:00] you know, the parties that come along with. But we wanted something a little bit different where our friends came away, um, knowing that they, they did quality work over the last two days and they were going home better off than than they came. So. So that's what we just went through. Um, the other big part of what DBA firm has been doing, or DBA, even in the last six months is, um, just this past few weeks, we actually received full approval [00:30:30] to issue CPE by Nasba and the state of Texas, because the state of Texas is a little bit different, um, both for in-person live events and online. So we love our friends at earmark that, you know, if you're listening to the podcast and getting CPE, but that ability through Nasba and Texas to offer CPE for events going forward also was, um, very important for what the future of DBA, Ferm holds.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely. [00:31:00] And then during, during the event. So the name of the event was Get Together. And it did take place in The Woodlands, Texas. And so kind of in our backyard. And so it was it was a great time. But there was also additional support that was released to only to attendees at that event. And so that's something that again. We don't necessarily feel called to to just serve everyone, and [00:31:30] we certainly don't feel called to just build a huge corporation for the purpose of building a huge corporation. Um, really sharing with our friends and so our friends that took the time and made the investment to come spend two days with us, we're able to learn about an additional service offering from DBA, Ferm that could help them even more, um, even more specifically to the needs of [00:32:00] their firm individually, rather than kind of just a group setting, um, type of support.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, we wanted to leave people better off. And this is the collective leadership of our team. Um, we wanted to leave them better off than we found them, whether or not they're going home with a plan to DIY it and take our resources or resources that they already have, or go find and go do what they want to do. Um, some people needed a little bit more clarity or wanted a little [00:32:30] bit more clarity, so we were ready to offer that. So what we introduced, um, at that event to those, uh, firms that were in the room is the opportunity, opportunity to do a grip. Uh, grip. And that's a goal ready implementation plan. And what that means is, uh, one of our team members, uh, will actually spend time with the firm, uh, the firm that was in the room or the firm that takes us up on this after this drops and [00:33:00] assess your firm. So look at what's going right. Look what's going well, um, kind of reflect on mission, vision and values that you've already identified. Really do an assessment or a deep dive of where you're at today, look at financial KPIs and just take a snapshot of where you're at, learn about where you want to go and help you develop that plan, and break it down by 24 months of what needs to happen over the next 24 months, so that you can move forward [00:33:30] if you want to grow, if you want to transition, or if you want to have some other event like a succession planning event or any other thing of that nature. So those grips were offered to people in the room. We had more than a handful take us up on those grips. We offered two options. We offered the virtual option, and we offered on site where our team member would actually fly to you in your firm for a day and a half, and spend deep time with you and your firm [00:34:00] and your leadership to document where you're at and put together a plan moving forward.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. I feel like you should have had, like, uh, cut to a promo video with music and graphics and all of the things for, um, do you need to get a grip on your firm? Right. And this is the way this is the first step to getting a grip on your firm. So if you're feeling like your firm is kind of, um, getting to an out of control point or just thinking about [00:34:30] the improvements and the changes that you want to make feel overwhelming and that everything's a priority, but you don't know which priority to start with or how to go about that. That's definitely what the grip or the goal ready implementation plan is for. Um, for our team members. If they were to go on site, it does take about a day and a half from our team, from their schedule, but they'll actually spend a day on site. Um, so about eight hours with the team doing that analysis and helping [00:35:00] to gather or refine that vision, vision, mission and values. Um, to really set aside and be able to plan out the goals and objectives and the steps, the timeline of how to accomplish the firm that you envision for the future. So really making those kind of dreams and that vision of what you want your firm to look like, or how you want your firm to run, who you want it to serve, [00:35:30] making that a reality instead of just a, oh, I would really love for that to happen, or I really wish I could get to this point. Um, that the grip is really the first step is really identifying all the pieces, all the things that you want to do. And then really, a person from our team who has worked with firms and in a firm and helped to do this previously, right, to help others make these goals realities, they'll put together [00:36:00] that plan for you, lined out for a year to two years, however long that that plan might take to get you to where you want to go.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And I think that you brought up a great point like the the grip is led by somebody who actually works in a firm or who has worked in a firm before. Um, these aren't, you know, MBA management consultants going off of theory alone. So we know the different pain points that clients bring. We know the different pain points, uh, that team members could bring with [00:36:30] any change management, um, operational support that is needed in firms. And so, um, with grip, uh, we're now to the point where we're about to roll that out to the, to the general public, I guess, if you will, or this listener base.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, we'll say not even the general public. Right. You still need to be. We could call it a subscriber. Um, but you still need to be enrolled in DBA, Ferm resources to be able to get the communication to access the services, [00:37:00] the resource, um, first dibs on webinars and events, things like that. So if you want to stay in the know, definitely go to Dylan Advisors Comm. Click on the DBA firm tab and enroll in those free resources. That really is going to be the only place, um, currently to access those grips. What we found from that event is we quickly accumulated a waitlist, um, situation. So just meaning again, we want to serve people [00:37:30] fully. We want to, um, I guess under-promise and overdeliver. We want to go beyond people's expectations and deliver a great product and give full focus to, um, a few at a time, rather than just trying to mass produce something. Again, this is really a calling and not necessarily just this is not something that we're doing to make money. So, um, just know that if it's something that you are interested in, be sure to sign up [00:38:00] so that you have access to that. And then definitely if you're thinking about it, go ahead and sign up for grip. Uh, because what we've seen is potentially you'll be scheduling a few months in advance. Um, not for like the following week.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So on the other side of that grip, they've got that plan and I, I paralleled that to something that you would run into a burning building for. Um, that's something that's going to be saved on your desktop or so important to the firm [00:38:30] after that, that it's really the roadmap or, um, it will help guide, uh, firm retreats, anything that you do in that nature. It could also help guide leadership meetings and everything that you may do on a, on a more frequent scale. But it all should point through this time that we spent together identifying what your goals are and what that plan would be. Um, on the other side of that grip, there are some there's a few different implementation options if you are interested in things that we already do when it comes to structure, strategy and [00:39:00] software. Um, there's ways that if you don't want to go it alone, um, our team is. And you to be there for you through that, through that. But then there's also the, um, you know, the bigger support option that we are building out in a way to serve people that take us up on groups, but then also just our subscriber base in general, as they try to identify a place where they can learn and be supported in their evolving [00:39:30] business as a as they continue to navigate change.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely. And so I don't know if we mentioned what the people who are helping, um, these firms along and actually, uh, the, the people who are performing these grips, but they are called transformation partners. And the reason they're called transformation partners is because what we're wanting to see is lasting change, um, something that has positive impact long term. Uh, again, it's great [00:40:00] to talk to somebody and to have somebody to vent to. Uh, but what we really want to see is people continuing to improve its expectations and, um, kind of desires, maybe how we're wired of continual improvement, always getting a little bit better. And so that's exactly why DBA Ferm was started. Why, um, grips are offered, why webinars are there is to help people continue to improve. So our transformation partners are, um, the people who will [00:40:30] be helping, uh, along with implementing these grips or implementing implementation engagements on the other side. So actually walking through a project, if you're wanting to implement the team of three model, actually implementing it with your team, with your clients in your firm specifically, um, or if you are wanting to, uh, move from the traditional maybe you are like us and have the 2000 tax projects, and you don't want to have 2000 tax projects, but [00:41:00] still need a certain level of revenue to continue our transformation. Partners can help you walk through the strategy of making that change, and really transforming your firm to a monthly recurring revenue model. So, um, again, if you're not interested yet, reach out to one of us. We'd be happy to talk to you more, because if it's something where improvement is a value or a priority for you, uh, this is something that you definitely want to [00:41:30] take a look at.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And and as mentioned, the easiest way to reach out is after you're in resources, you would have access to be able to reach out. And um, so from there, um, on the other side of grip, other side of implementation, it's just that support network, um, that's being built out, and our team is a part of that network for firms as well. So, um, you know, whenever we were designing what the future could look like, it was how do we support our own team and pair them up [00:42:00] with other CSM, other controllers, other CFOs that are trying to learn and improve? Um, we scan the market and we try to identify where a whole team could hang out and learn. And we kind of came back to the situation of, we have an excellent team. We just feel called to go build this. And that's that's where we're at. That's what we're actively doing. Um, within DBA, Ferm. And we will continue to release things as [00:42:30] they make sense and that they are, uh, ready for, for firms. And I think the maybe the last kind of part of this conversation is defining what DBA ferm is not because we've talked a lot about how we feel called to serve firms and that 500,000 to 5 million, um, a lot of those firms, the makeup of them are one partner or a small handful, not a lot. [00:43:00] Um, smaller teams, probably, um, you know, anywhere from five to 30 to 40 team members all in or where the.

Rachel Dillon: Website actually lists 3 to 30, so.

Marcus Dillon: 3 to 30. That sounds better.

Rachel Dillon: So we're just keeping it consistent. We'll say firms that have about 3 to 30 team members.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And that's that's really the the core um, that's who we feel called to serve because that's who we can make the greatest impact on. If we look in the mirror, that's who we essentially are and are building [00:43:30] or have built in the past and navigated through change. And so we feel that we're called to do that. So we are, you know, I would say, a part of a, um, actively running firm that is successful in most people's eyes. Um, so whenever we look at DBA, Ferm and kind of the question of what what is it, what isn't DBA ferm or another way to say that or what are we um, what [00:44:00] are your thoughts on that? As far as what are we not.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, we are definitely not a technology company. Um, we are definitely not a hosting service or, um, a website developer that, you know, depending on what you're looking for, needing in your firm to keep going towards your goals. Those are the things that we're not. What we are is we are very invested in building relationships and, uh, positively [00:44:30] impacting and transforming the accounting industry. And so really, you know, what are we? We're all about relationships. What are we not not a technology company, not a hosting service, not a website developer. Um, again, just is what it is. And, uh, excited. I think one thing that I love, I know you said it was going to be our last thing, but one thing that I have loved just over, almost the past [00:45:00] year is seeing our team get to share their passion and their knowledge and their experience. Um, you and I have the opportunity to do a podcast and share things that we love and that we've learned, uh, but now our team being able to share that and also start to build their own relationships with other people in the industry, um, that has been really rewarding and something that gets me really excited.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And it gives it gives them, um, [00:45:30] further development path, um, within their roles, um, to become a player coach or a teacher and take what they're learning and the skills they're honing on a daily basis and help others that are where they once were. And that's what's been really cool to see across csm's controllers, CFOs. Um, there are so much better at it than I am. Um, and they truly have the heart of the teacher, heart of a teacher for the most part. So yeah, hopefully we have somewhat defined, uh, where [00:46:00] DBA Ferm is, uh, you know, whenever you think of it, it is truly operational support when it comes to CPA firms. And that 500,000 to $5 million range with 3 to 30 employees. And how we do that is, um, through relational content or relational support, um, whether it's a grip, an implementation or some other way to support you and your team as you continue to transform your business.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely. [00:46:30] Well, this has been fun. Um, definitely love talking about DBA. Ferm love talking about our team, and certainly love to talk about time that we get to spend with all of our friends in the accounting industry. So, um, anything else to share? Before we go from this episode.

Marcus Dillon: I will say that, um, by the time this airs and drops this summer, um dba Ferm will be doing some really cool things. I would just say hopefully you've subscribed. If you haven't, please [00:47:00] go subscribe so you can be a part of this journey with us. And then on the other side of this, um, we don't know that the name DBA ferm is going to last forever either. So instead of just, uh, rerecording this, I'll put that at the end that, um, right now, DBA ferm exists as it is, and we feel called that what we are building will hopefully impact a lot more than just ourselves.

Rachel Dillon: Absolutely. Well, thanks for sharing. Thanks for this conversation and I'll [00:47:30] see you on the next. All right.

Marcus Dillon: Thanks so much.

Rachel Dillon: Thanks for hanging with us to the end of another episode. Leave us a review with your thoughts, comments, and feedback on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss any future episodes. Join us again next week for another great conversation.