Running a Remote Accounting Firm From a Mexican Beach

Sandra Koch founded Aurora Consulting Group in 2011 and spent years chasing the dream of a beautiful brick-and-mortar office — then sold the building, went fully remote, and eventually moved to a small coastal town in Baja California with dirt roads and 25 species of whales. She joins Marcus and Rachel to talk about the anxiety of going remote, the grief of letting go of a physical space, and why she now believes her clients get a better version of her than they ever did when she was managing an office.

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• (00:00) - Welcome to Who's Really the Boss
• (01:19) - Life in Mexico
• (02:00) - Firm Origins and Growth
• (04:05) - Going Fully Remote
• (12:05) - Client Visits and Meals
• (13:57) - Client Mixer Playbook
• (20:23) - Letting Go of Office
• (24:41) - Remote Hiring and Culture
• (29:33) - Incentives That Stick
• (33:44) - Why Retreats Matter
• (35:12) - Missing The Office Myth
• (38:46) - Better Owner Better Service
• (41:46) - 2026 Focus Words
• (45:01) - Trust Clean Help
• (46:37) - Science Experiment Mindset
• (49:55) - Collective Community Impact
• (54:48) - Closing And Next Steps

Creators and Guests

Host

Marcus Dillon, CPA

Host

Rachel Dillon

Guest

Sandra Koch

founder and CEO of Aurora Consulting Group

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: This is Who's Really the Boss, a podcast for accounting firm leaders who want to grow with intention and lead with purpose. I'm Rachel Dolan, and along with my husband, Marcus Dolan, we share real stories from our accounting firm, practical firm growth strategies and the tools you need to lead your clients, your team, and your life well.

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

Marcus Dillon: Hey, thanks for having me back.

Rachel Dillon: We are excited today to welcome our friend Sandra Koch to the episode. Welcome, Sandra.

Sandra Koch: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Rachel Dillon: All right. Well, we would like to learn a little bit more about you. Um, but I think it would be best if you give a self intro. So will you share a little bit about yourself with all of us today?

Sandra Koch: A little bit about me. I Um, a mother [00:01:00] of five. Um, I'm the oldest of six children. I have five baby brothers. I currently live in Baja California sur right on the coast and the Sea of Cortez. And, um, that's it, I guess.

Rachel Dillon: That's a lot. And that's fun. And so where you live, that's actually in Mexico, correct?

Sandra Koch: It is. I live in Mexico.

Marcus Dillon: And, and run a firm, a [00:01:30] US firm with employees and clients and everything from Mexico. So, um, I'm sure we'll talk a little bit more about that and that transition from California to, to Mexico and what that looks like and the fun of building a house and all that good stuff that you're in the middle of, uh, if you want to share any of that. So, uh, definitely want to unpack that and cool to hear, uh, mother of five, oldest of six, five brothers. Oh, you had your hands full there. [00:02:00] Um, tell us a little bit about the team, Sandra, about the makeup of where people are at, how you serve clients and all that fun stuff as well.

Sandra Koch: Well, um, like you said, we're a fully remote team. We're based out of Central California in Visalia. Visalia is really the heart of California. They call it the heart of the heart of the valley, San Joaquin Valley, it's farmland. Um, we don't specialize in agriculture accounting, but [00:02:30] we happen to be located in the middle of, um, a lot of agriculture. So, um, the firm was founded in 2011, actually, it was founded 15 years and four days ago. So this week we are celebrating our 15 year anniversary. And it was founded in actually in San Diego by myself. And I had one assistant at the time. And then it kind of evolved [00:03:00] where I. I ended up relocating in 2014 to Visalia, and at that time I had two offices, one location in San Diego Vista, California, and one in Visalia downtown. And then we just, um, I did that for about 16 months. That involved me having two offices, spending a week in San Diego, and then a week in Visalia. And I would just go back and forth a week in each location. Now [00:03:30] things evolved and eventually closed that San Diego office because that wasn't really working too well. And, um, we started to grow a little bit more. Um, we're still pretty small. There's now we have, um, two csms, we have a client controller, we have a client CFO and we have, um, Annette who helps us with all of our operations and admin. Okay.

Marcus Dillon: So a team of 6 or 7 depending [00:04:00] on the day, right?

Sandra Koch: 5 or 6 depending on the day.

Marcus Dillon: 5 or 6 depending on the day. Okay. Gotcha. And do you still have the office in Visalia?

Sandra Koch: No. So, um, we rented a couple different places. We ended up buying a building, and then we were there from, we were there until August of 23. And in August of 23, I realized that the clients weren't really coming to the office. Okay. And we had, I had a couple, I had a [00:04:30] couple of staff members that had moved away and they were working remote and we had this building and no one in it. And it did not make sense to continue to have an office. So I made the decision to go fully remote. It was incredibly scary for me. Um, the anxiety that I experienced during that time, I wouldn't wish on anybody. Um, but I knew it was the right thing to do. So I kept moving forward with what I knew to be the right thing to [00:05:00] do. And so we went fully remote in, um, right, right on August 1st of 2023 and rented out the building and we've been remote, I guess now it's been two and a half years.

Marcus Dillon: Okay. Awesome. And was that about the same time you decided to move to California or to Mexico, or was that just shortly after? Um, that.

Sandra Koch: It was a year later that we moved. I, at that time, I had absolutely no intention [00:05:30] of leaving the United States and moving out of the country. Um, they were separate decisions.

Marcus Dillon: Okay.

Sandra Koch: Um, but what happened as a result of going fully remote is I had this realization that I could. And at that point, because that became a possibility. I, I began to actually be able to consider that as something that was only a wish and a dream. You know, it became [00:06:00] something that could be possible.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. No, it's that's really cool. And that's obviously part of our story as well. And, um, it's, it's awesome and amazing that you got the business to that point, got the team to that point, got the clients to that point to whenever a year later, you're able to realize, hey, like we have options that we didn't have before when we had to maintain this physical presence in office. So I love, love. So far, everything you've shared, I know a lot of people are probably questioning, [00:06:30] uh, not only the anxiety, but what did it look like to move from San Diego to deeper into the heart of California, and what did that look like? And then obviously going fully remote. So, um, at this point in California or in the US, do you have, I assume you have a, an address or access to a conference room or something? Is that kind of the, the limited amount of, of office space you would have if you would even consider it that?

Sandra Koch: That's [00:07:00] a great question. Um, it's been interesting. It's not been without challenge. Um, you mentioned a few things that made me have a lot of thoughts as far as physical location goes. At first, when we first went fully remote, I was working out of my home, which had a physical address. Yeah, in California, but I did. I did change my mailing address, so I got a remote mailbox [00:07:30] immediately when we moved from the physical office, because I didn't want to use my home address as a business address. Yeah, yeah. So I got a postal one address and all of the mail began to go there. Um, which you can view online, which is great. Um, but then when I decided to relocate to a different country, things got weird because just in the banking industry, you [00:08:00] have to have a physical presence in the United States legally in order to have a bank account in the United States. Okay. But you you learn about these laws as as you go along, sometimes the hard way. So, um, I do have a physical location in Visalia. It's a very small office and I have conference space available and I do rent that full time. So when I do, when I travel back to the area to see clients and do business, [00:08:30] um, take care of whatever I deem important for that trip. Um, I do have a spot now. I didn't at first though. Um, at first I kind of flew by the seat of my pants without that, but and I didn't necessarily get that physical location because the business needed needed it.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Sandra Koch: Uh, because I could have used a myriad of physical locations as the business address if I needed to, but I didn't want to burden [00:09:00] anyone else. And I also. I found after moving that I wanted to come back to see the clients. Um, our firm is we're very touchy feely and very intimate and very close with their clients. And I care about them and I miss them and I want to see them kind of like I would want to see my kids or my brothers or my parents. So I found for me that it's working out a lot better to come [00:09:30] every once in a while, whether that's three times a year or four times a year, and just connect with everyone and make myself available. That's great. And the clients get a kick out of it. I mean, and all I really do is take everyone out to eat. Yeah, and that's fun too. Right. So it's, it's, it's worked out really cool. And I've got that space and I haven't really used it for business at all. Um, I just, I haven't, but I intend to actually put furniture [00:10:00] in it and then I could use it and we'll see what, we'll see how that unfolds.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And no, none of your current team members live near the office. Uh, or do they?

Sandra Koch: No. Not anymore. How things have unfolded is there's the, I have I have a couple of team members in the Central Valley, but they are well over two hours from Visalia where they live. And [00:10:30] they've one of them relocated. One of them already lived there. I've got a team member in San Diego. Um, yeah, I can't think of where everyone is right now. But yeah, no one, no one is in the local area. I do have, I do have an assistant though who assists me very, very, very part time with anything like I need a deposit made or I need the mail picked up or, you know, little tiny things, but it she maybe does [00:11:00] a two hours for me every six weeks. It's so minimal that it's, it's yeah.

Marcus Dillon: That's great. Yeah. It's almost like you just need that extension of yourself whenever you're in another country. Right? Like I just can't get physically to the mailbox or the bank or the remote check deposit thing isn't working that day. Um, so yeah, that's, that's a, that's a lot, that's a lot to unpack.

Sandra Koch: Yeah. I mean, I could do it. I could do it without her. [00:11:30] Um, because all the mail that comes to there can be forwarded. Okay. We get, we get all kinds of packages down here. We get mail down here, We use, um, a service that that's what they specialize in is, I mean, I haven't given up Amazon. Yeah. Um, you know, so it goes to San Diego and then it gets shipped down to me and I can do the same thing with any mail or any packages. And we do have because of technology, we can do everything remotely.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Sandra Koch: Um, but [00:12:00] it's nice. I like having a person there.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. It just as needed. It's always helpful. So you mentioned, uh, meeting with the clients and taking them to a meal or, you know, breaking bread, if you will, with them and how special that is. When you go back, do you do that one on one or in a group setting? Uh, is it multiple clients at one time? Or is it just you're kind of hitting everybody, uh, based on these, uh, availability?

Sandra Koch: That's a great question. It's [00:12:30] their one on one. And I really think kind of that's where the magic is with the clients is the one on one. And so I think that's kind of how it's always been with my, with my relationships with the clients. I think I, I have daydreams about doing group things. I've thought about them a lot. I like the idea, you know, education or activities or community. [00:13:00] Um, but that hasn't unfolded yet. But I think we get as we get more juice for the squeeze when it's one on one and they are, you know, telling me what's really going on with them. And they that happens, that happens more so when you're when you're face to face.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. For sure. And, and we've obviously been a, we've tried different things over the years as well. And I think, you know, whether it's educational or just a mixer of some [00:13:30] type, um, if you can connect people with other people and Sometimes clients are like minded or into the same things. And. That's always a great opportunity. So maybe down the road. There's an opportunity to do that. And, um, but it's not, it's not meant to replace, uh, those one on one connections or anything as well.

Sandra Koch: I really love that. I'm, I'm inspired that you've done that. And have you found it to be successful in a positive outcome?

Marcus Dillon: Oh, yeah. I think, Rachel, you want to kind of tell the story. [00:14:00] It's funny, like we've moved offices a few different times. Uh, the last office that we built out, uh, it was more of a co-working space and more of a drop in play. And people were already remote people, you know, fast forward, nobody used that space. Uh, they still just work from home because that's where their setup was. But whenever we open that space, we did have a mixer. And I think, Rachel, you probably remember that and can share a little bit more detail of who came and breaking up the party and telling everybody to go. [00:14:30] I thought at the end of the night was a good thing.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. For sure. So this was coming right out of COVID. That just happened to be the time that we had built out the new space. So 2020 late of 2021, I believe is when this was happening and we ended up needing to invite our clients. Um, these are our full service monthly clients who we are, you know, speaking with remotely, uh, a couple times a month and so invited them to come in person, but we had to do it [00:15:00] over three events so that we didn't have too many people in the space at a time. Um, it was fine. It was like two hours. We made it super simple, but we also did it the time of year that we did it. We did it in November and called it an appreciation and then gave like their Christmas gift at that time. So instead of having to mail out a bunch of gifts or whatever, we just gave it to them when they came in and just called it appreciation, not necessarily Christmas. [00:15:30] So we hit a lot of things all at one time. Um, and then also just doing something a little special memorable for them. And we just did drinks and cookies, I believe, like drinks and desserts. Um, that's kind of our M.O. anyway. Whenever we have events, it's like we'll provide the sweets, um, and have a good conversation.

Rachel Dillon: So, um, but it was good. We had, I would say at each one, team members came and kind of, uh, picked like leadership team members were there for [00:16:00] all of them. And then other team members who were in the area, they like picked 1 or 2 to come to. Out of the three total events. Um, and so they weren't required to be at all of them, but if they had clients, so we'd have the RSVP. So if they're monthly clients were going to be there, then we tried to get like the entire team of three, if possible, uh, in the office for that one. Um, and so it worked out really nicely. Just like two hours, we had the little space to kind of have just a meet and greet [00:16:30] and catch up and then had people go from there. So it was it was really neat. Um, I think clients really appreciated it. They really didn't know what to expect if they were coming for a presentation or if they were coming for it was, you know, the first time we had ever done it. And we kind of put, we, we kind of put on there what it was. But I think just because they had never experienced it and they're coming to their CPA's office, that's what they're like.

Rachel Dillon: I don't know, coming to get a presentation to me, is something going [00:17:00] to be asked of me differently? And so I think that they were pleasantly surprised when it really was just to like, get to see your people and know your people in person. And that doesn't happen every year. That doesn't, you know, like that was a actually a one time that we did that and then more so have done it really kind of based on either if a client is on monthly services and they want to meet in person, then maybe that's an option depending on where they live and where we are. And [00:17:30] then the other ones are just clients will kind of let us know if they're in the area. And so then we can see like do schedules align if they're going to be free and if they're in the area, like, what could we work out? So I think it, it works out nicely for those. It's not something that our, you know, our remote clients expect to be served remotely by their remote team. And so it's just a little out of the ordinary that just doesn't have to have it doesn't have to recur just because you have one or do it one [00:18:00] time doesn't mean you have to do it ongoing.

Sandra Koch: Well, and that's kind of how I feel when I go and travel. I kind of try to make the rounds to, you know, if I didn't see someone last time, maybe on this next trip, I'll see them. And it's really just based on availability because everyone's got stuff going on. And you know, it's just like, hey, I'm going to be in town. I'd love to connect. If you're available, you want, are you available to able to go to lunch or can you? You know, these are and you know, it worked out on [00:18:30] the last trip out in January where I already had some scheduled meetings. So we just made them face to face instead of remote. And I mean, I was really surprised actually by how warm the response has been to that. Um, yeah, and it's also kind of grassroots for me because when I started way back in the early 2000, I, that's how I worked. [00:19:00] I was like, I did house calls and I, and I, and it was perfect because I was raising little kids and I did house and I loved it. And it was the, it was so it was fun to kind of get to do that every now and then. Now.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, no, that's great. And, uh, we, we've seen very similar response. Sandra. And the other thing that I've seen is clients love like, uh, when you come to them, not necessarily their office, but we have a client who recently sold his business in 2025, [00:19:30] and he spends a lot of time at his farm now. And I just offered up. I told him, hey, next time you're there, I'll just let's let's meet there. And like his eyes, like he got super excited. He's like, I'd love to show you the place. Yeah. And you know, we'll go do whatever. And I'm like, yes, like I can check the box that I met with this client, you know, showed him some appreciation, showed him some love. And I didn't have to talk about accounting or tax or any of that stuff. Like we got to have fun, a [00:20:00] fun day at the farm. Right? So I think those are, those are the other moments that you think about that, like strengthen the relationship. It's more than just the transactional business. You know, that's, that's occurring. And you know, even if like this client, we're no longer doing stuff for his business that he sold, but he's still here, he's still paying a premium for, you know what? What little we do for him now, but, uh.

Marcus Dillon: But yeah, like, those are the little things that even in a remote environment, [00:20:30] you know, I grew up in the fact where like the ultimate achievement was having this nice brick and mortar building that had your name on the side of it. And, you know, I grew up, you know, that that was you made it when, when that happened and when people came to you and they came to your building that had your name on it, your office, and sat in your conference room like you made it. And now it's just, I don't know if maturity or life has really changed, but I just don't, I [00:21:00] don't value, you know, that as much because of the freedom, the flexibility, the less responsibility I have to like a physical building. Um, especially when, you know, freezes come and you have to wrap pipes and, you know, make sure no one slips and falls and busts their, you know, elbow open or anything like that. So, um, yeah, it's funny how, you know, life, life evolves.

Sandra Koch: Well, I mean, I had the same experience. I was renting these offices and I felt like I [00:21:30] was just. I can't be renting. It's such a waste, you know, I'm throwing flushing money down the toilet and, you know, and I, I've been looking for a building for a year before I found it and I found this building and I was so excited. You know, I bought a building and I remodeled it and I made it pretty. And I was so proud of it. And it was like, you know, it was ego feeding and it was a status symbol. And, and then the reality of it was, is that I couldn't see the forest for the trees, like the building was [00:22:00] like, yeah, it was. And I mean, I, I miss it in some ways because I did like it. It was like my home away from home because our building was really cozy. And that's the way I designed it because that's how I wanted it. And yeah, it was really cozy. And I, when I gave it up, it's like I was given. It was like a grief process to sew. Right. That's the other side of it is like, you have this dream and then the dream kind of like falls apart. And then letting go of the dream is like, [00:22:30] wait, what do I do now? And, but I'm really, uh, the freedom that I have experienced by letting go of a physical location has been profound. Yeah. And on top of that, the freedom that I have experienced from moving to Mexico has been profound.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I can I can only imagine.

Sandra Koch: Yeah. It's just I mean, where I live in Mexico, there are only dirt [00:23:00] roads. We have one paved road and one stop sign. There's a year round population of about 1800 and a much larger tourist population. Um, but it is, uh, a very come as you are place. And There is a lot of, um, beauty and there's, there's like, it's like 25 different varieties of whales here and.

Marcus Dillon: Oh, wow.

Sandra Koch: Mobula rays and manta rays and the birds [00:23:30] and the, the we call, I call it a desert forest.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Sandra Koch: Because it's like the mountains meet the desert meets the sea. And, um, it's does something to your brain when you don't have the demands of the US that kind of changes it. Reorients your priorities.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Sandra Koch: You know, you know how you feel when you go on vacation in Mexico.

Marcus Dillon: Oh, yeah.

Sandra Koch: Yeah. Just imagine that all the time.

Marcus Dillon: That would be it would be hard to get work done. I [00:24:00] would say that, uh, I would have to come to the.

Sandra Koch: Yeah, it hasn't been. I worked my tail off. I've, I put in the hours. It just when you wake up and the the sun's rising over Jacques Cousteau Island. It does it it makes work better. I have to say, it really does.

Marcus Dillon: Well, I think you sold me. You probably sold Rachel. And depending on when this releases. Um, you know, the we have some friends that run firms in South Dakota, and it gets really nasty [00:24:30] cold in those areas of the state. So I think a lot of people are going to be exploring what it looks like to have more freedom in the near future.

Sandra Koch: Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: I love that. Well, Sandra, you shared a little bit about what it's like to see clients every once in a while in person and kind of go back to what is the office, the US based office. What does it look like for your team? I know you said when you started it was you and one assistant. So did you always [00:25:00] hire remote positions? Did you have to transition from managing in an in-person environment to managing in a remote environment? What was that like?

Sandra Koch: Um, so it kind of happened slowly. Um, originally everyone was in person, I didn't. Back in 2011, I never dreamed of working remotely. Um, so that was a slow transition. The first fully remote employee I hired was [00:25:30] in, I think it was four years ago now. 3 or 4, four, I can't remember exactly which with the intent of her being fully remote when she was hired. And she's out of San Diego. She still works with Aurora today. And that was, I guess, a risk, a jump, a I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it anyway. A science experiment. Um, [00:26:00] and, um, she, she's the right person. And I think that's really, uh, partly what it is, is hiring the right people who, um, have the ability to work remotely successfully. And so she was an excellent example of that. So we. I was lucky I, I hired an excellent example of that, which kind of set the standard and helped us understand what that looked like. [00:26:30] But I don't know, I've done everything other than other than hiring her. I think I've made all the other. Everything else has been a mistake that I've had to. We've learned from. Um, our client controller's been with us for over ten years, and she went remote. Um, and she's she's made for it, honestly. Um, and, you know, I think really what it, what matters is [00:27:00] training, um, culture. Training culture. Excellent communication. Um, bonding with your team members. Those are the things that we need to do to be successful. So learning how to do that, um, has been a process.

Sandra Koch: And I mean, so [00:27:30] yeah, I mean, we use, we do training, we talk about our training, we use, we use a tool to manage the firm that we communicate on. And you have to be religious about it. If not all that communication and then it works. It works if you're religious with communication. But we have, um, a weekly staff meeting that has evolved over the years. It used to be longer, it's now much shorter. And the [00:28:00] only thing we really do in that staff meeting is we connect with each other And that's the sole purpose. It's every Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST, and we get together for about 45 minutes. And we start with their what we need help with, what our successes were, what our what we're having a hard time with, what we need help with. And we kind of put ourselves out there. And then [00:28:30] we launch into our book club and we're always reading a book. We have a book of the month that we rotate a new book every month. Awesome. Every team member that finishes the book gets a bonus. And we talk about what we're learning from that book. And then we, we do our announcements and then we do our happies and crappies or highs and lows and then staff meetings over. So it's really not about the work. And, [00:29:00] um, getting that right has helped a lot. We, those staff meetings used to be way too long and I talked way too much. Um, so it's gotten better.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: I love that.

Marcus Dillon: The famous this could have been an email, right? Like this meeting could have been an email. Uh, after those is, is what I think about too. It's usually when I'm talking and I'm like, no one's listening to this. They're all going to forget it. I could have sent an email or a message and they could have saved it. Um, so I, uh, [00:29:30] I appreciate that the meetings are more fun and more personal.

Rachel Dillon: Can I ask a little bit more? Sandra, what is the incentive? What is the incentive or what is the incentive amount for finishing that book club?

Sandra Koch: 100 bucks.

Rachel Dillon: Perfect. Yeah. Like, I think that that's important to share just because I think some people will kind of like, well, where will I get budget for that? I think the thing is it doesn't have to be a lot, but anytime as leaders that [00:30:00] we put money behind an expectation or something that we would like to happen or to see more of. It just makes it a little bit more real and important. Like. Then the team members see, oh, yeah, no, they really value me doing this. There must be something more than just this would be a good idea. This might be something you'd like to try. Um, and actually be something that they pay a little bit more attention to. So I love that.

Sandra Koch: Yeah. I mean, I didn't know if it was the [00:30:30] right amount, but it seems to be the right amount. Mhm. And it doesn't work on everybody. I've got one team member that never finishes the book, but she's just. But then I've got another that hasn't missed one.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: So I think that's a thing of like, it just makes it feel like it's, it's more important. So those people who want to please and who want to do that, they're like, oh yeah, I remember because there's something tied to it. And I think with incentives and what we've [00:31:00] tried to pay attention to and stick to is to start lower versus higher and see if it works. And then that way you can always pull that lever of if we increase it by a little bit. Do we have any more adherence or compliance? Do we see any better rate of return? Um, you know, if we start low and we increase and neither of those things are working, then that incentive, right, is not the right thing. It's not about necessarily the money. Um, in that case, [00:31:30] but if you start too high, it's very hard to reverse it and go backwards. So either to completely take it away or to reduce it. So it's like always err on the side of caution and start lower than what you think you can increase at any time, but it's definitely very hard to reverse it or take something away. Uh, with incentives for sure. With team members. Those are excellent. I think that that's, um, super helpful. I think the three [00:32:00] things that you mentioned, um, culture, training and communication are the three reasons a lot of people will not even try to go remote because they just have no idea. But you definitely have shared some very practical things about both culture and communication just with the weekly team meeting.

Sandra Koch: Well, you know, the other thing I noticed, which kind of kindly surprised me is I for gifts for the team, for whether it's like our team team [00:32:30] retreat or for the holidays or I've been including some sort of swag, they go nuts over it. I'm like, who would have I. And it makes. And it's really cool because it makes me realize that I think it's cool. But they do too. And that means they're proud of the team that they're on. They want to show that off. And so I don't do a lot of stuff, that I try to do something really [00:33:00] nice. Like I did these really nice jackets at Christmas and everyone just went berserk over them. And so that's something that surprised me. So we're going to transition soon and we're going to get I'm getting everyone's shirts, work shirts so they can wear polos. And, um, and I think it, and I work with, with tech, some several tech companies and they do it. It's, it's pretty slick and it's very professional. You know, when I, when I meet some of our [00:33:30] vendors and I'm like, oh, that's a really easy thing to do. And it makes the team feel proud, proud of themselves. They get to put their uniform on. Um, you know, and, and then, you know, the, the stuff that the face to face stuff I've done with the team has been more powerful than I could have realized. The face to face training, the face to face, um, retreats, it's kind of necessary, I've realized, because it's not just [00:34:00] about connecting. And it. It's me showing them that I care. I care about the company. I care about them. It's tangible. They got on an airplane and went somewhere. And it's it's like I'm putting my money where my mouth is.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, yeah. You took your whole team or most of your team to intuit connect. Um, in Vegas, right? Wasn't that one of the last ones that you traveled for?

Sandra Koch: We did. [00:34:30] That's and that was new for us. We've never done anything like that before. So that was a. And so we spent half the time. Well, we spent part of the time we spending the whole taking advantage of Intuit connect and all that it had to offer. Um, but in the evenings and after the conference was over, we spent that time me running them ragged, having a really good time.

Marcus Dillon: That's good.

Sandra Koch: It's doing a lot of really fun things. And, um, I do believe [00:35:00] that that was I mean, they still talk about, oh, remember when this and you know, and and it and got everyone some of the team members had never met each other before face to face.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Sandra Koch: So that was neat.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. Yeah. You said.

Sandra Koch: It again.

Marcus Dillon: You said something earlier, and I, I am guilty of it as well. When you reflect back on the office and having people in person and, uh, even maybe clients that come like you own, I, when I do [00:35:30] that, I only remember the good days, right? Like, because that's what I'm missing. I'm missing, you know, everything was great, but I'm discounting the other 90% of that life. Going to an office, making a drive, um, being there kind of questioning or hiding from team members because they had a problem and I didn't want to be, I, you know, I didn't want to be brought into their problem or that client's issue. Client would come in, I'd go hide because I just didn't have the time to devote [00:36:00] to that client in that minute. Um, but it is funny, like what you focus on and your comment about, you know, that that dream and how that dream either evolves, changes, whatever. But man, I am guilty of remembering the good times. Uh, when I miss something.

Sandra Koch: Yeah. I mean, I think there's nothing but to do but to, like, feel sad about it and then move on because I, I do my logic [00:36:30] can override like, I'll get sad about it. But I mean, I'm like, Sandra, do the math. Do the oh, yeah. Yeah, the math says that it doesn't make any sense. You know, just even in my own level of stress, you know, let's weigh out what works. Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: Marcus and I are coming straight off of yesterday, closing on the sale of our forever building. So we built out this huge building and it closed [00:37:00] yesterday, the day before we're recording this podcast. And so Marcus was definitely grieving. So the fact that you say that you two had to like, mourn that a little bit of time period of what was and then what's going to be. Um, I am not like you guys of just remembering all the good times. I'm often on the receiving end of like, this doesn't work or we can't get access to this. The internet's out, the power's out, the router won't [00:37:30] reboot. Um, all of the things that happen when you have tenants or even just coworkers in the building. And so, um, I was like, good riddance. Like, let's be done with this. Let's be free out from under this huge responsibility. Um, so I think it's funny, so many things that you've shared already today from the starting the firm in 2011 with one assistant, um, to going remote after Covid happened. Uh, all of those things [00:38:00] are so similar to our story. Um, and it's just funny that a lot of the same feelings, a lot of the same hesitations, a lot of the same fears, those as well overlap. Um, but I am thankful that a lot of the celebrations as well, that we've all had the opportunity, um, after kind of taking that similar journey along the way. Um, I'm glad that we all have celebrations to share coming out of that. And I mean, I, it sounds [00:38:30] like you would agree, but I think the, the life and the firm that we lead today, um, is definitely a great place to be, even though the past was great as well. Um, this is still just as good, if not better.

Sandra Koch: Well, I just I think what has what's happened for me that I didn't realize what happened is I actually think I'm better now. And my clients get a better version of me. They get more of me. [00:39:00] They get a less stressed out version of me. I'm more present for them now than I was, because I'm not dealing with all the things that are attached to a physical location. Yeah. And so when I'm on a call with a client, they're, they've got me, all of me. I'm not thinking about what's going on in the next room with that staff member or the client that's getting ready to walk through the [00:39:30] door that I'm running over with this one or whatever it is. It's I have a lot more control of my time because I have less to manage in general. And I feel like I'm, I'm very, I'm more proud of myself now as a firm owner than I've ever been.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Sandra Koch: And I don't think I could have made this that transition. Still, being in a brick and mortar, I couldn't have because I, [00:40:00] I was too stressed out all the time. There was too many demands and pressures that removing those created space.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. No, that that is profound. You know, I think and it's not only, you know, to your point, it's not only the clients that are getting a better version of you, but it's likely your team, your family, your friends, you know, you're just a more balanced and more complete person. Um, that's in the moment versus thinking about the [00:40:30] whole variety of different things that come up whenever you're managing a physical location.

Sandra Koch: Well, when I first met you guys, I don't know if you remember, but I was pretty frantic and I've become less frantic Oh. That's good. Over time, I was. Help me. I'm not okay. And I feel like you might be able to help me. And yeah, you guys are like, just you're like, we're just going to do our thing. And, you know, I, I [00:41:00] just jumped on your shirt tails.

Marcus Dillon: No. Well, also, you worked with one of the calmest guys we know in Ben Gabriel and you know, Ben, uh, you know, I think Ben mostly has good days. And when you're around Ben, you have a good day. And, you know, you can kind of relax and, uh, go with the flow because. Because you mirror who you're around typically. And so Ben, his, you know, just life, it seems to be, uh, a very constant flow of chill. Um, [00:41:30] how I would describe it. Rachel, I know that you typically have questions that you want to make sure answered whenever we have a guest. So I know we've already gone quite a bit of time and I want to make sure that if you have anything that we don't, you know, skip those at all.

Rachel Dillon: Well, I'd love to hear Sandra not necessarily what's next, but more about what's now. So for 2026, what are your current goals for Aurora consulting Group?

Sandra Koch: For [00:42:00] 2026. So I'm really proud of the fact that we only have three.

Marcus Dillon: Good job.

Sandra Koch: I think that that's down from like 29 last year and 52 the year before. Um, but the goals are to align, refine and define. And, um, what that means to me is refining what we've already done and improving what we've already done. [00:42:30] Um, in other areas that have to do with, um, definitions of the work that we do, how that's communicated on our marketing material, on our sales proposals and to the staff members so we know what our scope is. Um, so that's a defining those things, aligning them across all the marketing channels and into our service descriptions, um, and [00:43:00] working on ourselves. It has to do with working on ourselves, improving ourselves, making ourselves better. Each team member becoming the best version of a CSM can be the best client CFO that, that she can possibly be. Um, so it's just about we're not trying to do any big initiatives this year. No big initiatives, no big we're going to, you know, reinvent, no reinvent the wheels. Um, we're [00:43:30] just going to try to make constant improvement that that also in involves writing more writing of SOPs, more collaboration on those. Um, and then collecting data from our, our staff members and from our former and current clients to make improvements. So yeah, we're just, I have those well defined, but they're not in my head well defined, [00:44:00] but aligning, refining and defining is what we're working on in 2026.

Rachel Dillon: I love that. I love that, that every, every year you can accomplish a lot. You can make progress and move forward and maybe even more progress from a client experience and a team member experience without having to switch practice management solutions or change tack software, or start offering an entire new service line, or use AI to [00:44:30] automate everything. Like it's, it's not necessarily about that, but just those three words define, refine and align us will give so much clarity for team and clients that it will be like a whole new experience without changing really anything. Um, just that clarity alone will just make so much improvement. So I love that that's what you guys are working on for the next year. That's amazing.

Marcus Dillon: Mhm. [00:45:00]

Rachel Dillon: Um, and then one other thing that I wanted to make sure we normally do this at the beginning, but I let us run without asking you. I have to ask now. You said you had five brothers. You had five kids. So that means you must have a lot of advice for people. So the best piece of advice you've ever been given. I'd like us to share it now. Even though we skipped it at the beginning, I'd love for us to share before we end the episode.

Sandra Koch: Um, [00:45:30] trust God, clean house and help others.

Rachel Dillon: I love that. I absolutely love that.

Sandra Koch: Keep my side of the street clean. Always look for opportunities to be of service and know that God's got it. Yeah, always. I don't have to do anything. The wind will blow or it will not blow.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, don't worry about it.

Rachel Dillon: I think just having [00:46:00] that, um, advice and holding to, you know, holding that close is probably what's helped you take the risks. I know sometimes we say fly by the seat of our pants, but I really think it's just taking a risk seeing it through. And if it doesn't work out, then you just do something else, right? Like at the end of the day, the worst that's going to happen is that it doesn't work out and you try something different, you pick it, you pick up the pieces and you keep moving forward. And so, um, I think that that [00:46:30] probably speaks volumes of what gives you the courage and the confidence to continue to take those risks?

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Sandra Koch: Well, you know, I think what also helped me is kind of changing my mindset about trying new things. I used to think trying new things meant I'm going to try something and it's either going to succeed or fail or, you know, sometimes there's a third, a door number three, where we just it didn't turn out how we planned, but it still was a good thing. Yeah. [00:47:00] And I, when I changed my thought, thought process around trying new things to, I'm doing a science experiment to see what happens. It really helped me and I, I've just decided pretty much everything I do is a science experiment. That means I'm going to try it. We're going to see what I learned from it, and then decide whether we're going to keep doing it or stop doing it based on what I'm learning as I go along. And you know, [00:47:30] I the truth. The truth of the matter is, is I don't have to commit to anything. I don't have to commit to a piece of software. I don't have to commit to a staff member. I don't have to commit to a client. And when I go into a situation going, I don't have to commit, but I'm willing to try it because I'm curious, because I have insatiable curiosity about everything. I have to be careful about that and, and then do that with some, you know, some prudence, right? [00:48:00] That means asking my team if I'm completely off my rocker and letting them. And my husband, thank goodness, he's pretty grounded. And he kind of keeps me from going completely off the rails.

Sandra Koch: But looking at things as science experiments instead of, I'm going to try this new thing and hope it succeeds, then it takes all the pressure off. And it also keeps me really curious and open minded and willing to be honest with myself about how things are really [00:48:30] going because I'm collecting data, right? And this is science. Yeah. So I need to be honest with myself. And if I'm willing to really ask myself if something's working or not and, and, and, and that involves a lot of humility. It involves an ego smash. It involves a lot of things, you know, that go into that little concoction. But I think just changing my words from success or failure to science experiment was kind of the foundation of, um, [00:49:00] being, uh, being able to move so fast because we've moved very fast the last couple of years. I mean, the external, as you can see, is going remote and then leaving the country, but like our internal workflows went from practical nonexistence to like well-oiled machine in a very fast period of time because we pivoted and then we pivoted and we pivoted when something wasn't working, we dropped it and we went on to the next thing that's not working, we're [00:49:30] going to change. And, um, and now we've got this tech stack and this workflow that we're like, oh my goodness, this is so cool. It's working. You know, like we need to get better. We need to refine, we need to improve that. We've got great tools that all work together. And it was because we were willing to try new things.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. That's awesome.

Rachel Dillon: One final question for you, Sandra. We met you in, I [00:50:00] think, November of 2022 at Intuit Connect. And then shortly after you, uh, courageously signed up to come to collective by Dba's very first in-person event. So you've been along with us on the ride from the very beginning, um, collective bi DBA, what would you say has been the biggest help from being connected to the firms and the collective by DBA team.

Sandra Koch: Oh [00:50:30] my goodness. Everything. Um, I don't Aurora would not I don't think Aurora would exist today unless I would have met you guys. I had, I had actually put the practice up. I had tried to sell the practice three times in the preceding ten years because I was like, I can't do this anymore. But so I heard that I heard Marcus speak it into it, connect. I don't think he knew I existed, but that's okay. Um, and, but I found out I got on the mailing [00:51:00] list. I found out about the event and, um, I liked what I was hearing. It felt good to me. I felt like I could trust what I was hearing. The intention made sense and it gave me hope. That was I, I heard a message of hope. That's what I heard. And, um, so yeah, I started getting the emails. I read every single email. I think I reached out to you, Rachel, and asked questions leading up to the event. And since then, it's just been an evolution [00:51:30] of as you have released new opportunities and tools, I've tried to take advantage of them, whether that's the collective platform or coaching with Ben, um, I have not missed one of your events and, um, it's, it's not always easy to get there. Sometimes it's a struggle. Sometimes I, you know, I have got lots of reasons why I maybe shouldn't go to the next one, but I make it a priority and I have brought team members as well. And they have grown. I mean, they're so [00:52:00] sad faced that they're not going to the one in the spring.

Sandra Koch: They're like, why can't we go? And it's like, there's I, we can only do so much folks. Yeah. But, um, it makes me feel like I'm part of a community for the first time in my career, a community that cares about me. I, it feels safe. I, I feel like I can be honest, I feel like it's okay to not be perfect. I can be kind of like my messy self with you guys. And, [00:52:30] um, and so it allows me to like meet myself where I'm at and be honest about where I'm at. So then I can then, um, be honest with, you know, I can go out there and I can go on the forum and say, hey, I need it. I need help with this. I'm having a problem with this. And it also gives me an opportunity to help others. There's been a couple of people who have posted things that I knew something about, and then I got to share my experience, which has made me feel [00:53:00] like I get it's an opportunity to give back. So that, and then the, the community for my staff members. So they have a community now that they can take advantage of. So I feel like it's just, it's been the thing that's made everything come together. I've used other tools and resources from outside of collective, but it's been kind of like the center of our total firm transformation that started [00:53:30] in November of 22. And so we're just about a little over three years in, and I'm on a five year plan. So we're doing and we're on track.

Marcus Dillon: So yeah.

Rachel Dillon: You're doing it well, thank you so much for sharing that. And we appreciate. Yes, you share a lot. Um, I think you were a little humble and that you share a lot with the community. Um, and definitely, I think even, even more so collective by DBA has created a space and [00:54:00] put some frameworks out there, but I think the real value comes from the high quality members, the other accounting firm and firm leaders and team members, and just everyone's willingness to be transparent with what's worked and what hasn't worked, what they've tried that we can like skip, skip, skip ahead and just try something different because that one's not going to work and that everyone's just so willing to share practically. What does it look like in your firm? How do you really do it? Like [00:54:30] we don't need another sales pitch. We just need what are the practical steps to take? And what is this really going to look and feel like for team and clients if we do it? So I think that, that, um, those are some of my favorite things about getting to be involved with all of these other firms too. Yeah.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And after this, um, I'm sure you're going to get a lot of opportunity to help others figure out how they can go remote and how they can move to Mexico or whatever their Mexico is. [00:55:00] Maybe, you know, maybe it's better. Maybe. Yeah, it's one of those, uh, somewhere, you know, what's their dream? And I think you're a testament to somebody that's living, uh, their dream and just thankful to be your friend, thankful to be a part of that journey with you. So Rachel, thanks for leading it. Sandra, thank you for your time and all your wisdom and sharing.

Sandra Koch: Um, and thank you, Marcus and Rachel. Thank you so much. Yeah. And I'm really looking forward to seeing you in April.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. It'll be.

Rachel Dillon: Can't wait for [00:55:30] a different side of Mexico to meet you.

Sandra Koch: Yeah. I'm so excited. I've never been to Cancun, so this is going to be so cool. I've. I've never been to mainland Mexico, so I'm really, really excited. Yeah.

Marcus Dillon: Awesome. That's going to be a blast for sure.

Rachel Dillon: All right. Well, we will see everyone on the next. Thanks so much.

Rachel Dillon: Thanks for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed the conversation and want to learn more, be sure to visit collective. You [00:56:00] can schedule a meeting directly with me, Rachel, by clicking on the Contact Us page. Be sure to subscribe, like, and share so you don't miss any future episodes. We look forward to connecting with you soon.