A Boutique in an Accounting Firm? | STRATEGY COACHING

When you first hear the idea it sounds a little far-fetched. We are not used to talking about a boutique business in an accounting practice. Accountants (and others) don’t exactly think of their work as glamorous. Nor do financial advisors or actuaries for that matter. But try to follow me here.

The public (our clients) is continuing to move down the path of a trend toward greater specialization from everyone. So how can we respond and use the trend to develop or grow our practice?

I think we can use the demand for greater specialization to our advantage in practice development. We can redefine a part of our business in a way that causes us to stand above our competitors in the eyes of our current and prospective clients. When I look at most financial and professional services firms, they all promote their work in certain niches. Unfortunately they all talk about mostly the same niches.

boutiqueistock_000011403355xsmall Here’s the problem: when everybody is trying to set themselves apart from the competition by claiming expertise in the same niches, nobody stands apart. And this is pretty much where we are today. So, what I want to help you do is learn how to create a micro-niche and turn it into a profitable boutique practice within your firm.

A boutique practice will cater to a much smaller group of clients. But the specialty will be carefully chosen to meet a specific need in which you (or someone in your firm) has the expertise and experience to stand apart from the crowd.

Here’s an example. Your firm specializes in corporate tax accounting. You have people who specialize in business assets tax accounting, others who specialize in real estate tax accounting, others who specialize in sales and use tax accounting, and some who specialize in tax accounting for international sales. Now, with a little bit of information sharing and research, you discover that you are currently serving only 5 of the 50 businesses in your region who are in the same industry and all have operations in the U.S. and Brazil. From these two points of operations, these companies provide products to all of North and South America.

By investing in research and talking among yourselves and with your current clients, you are able to determine what the common needs are for all of these businesses, as well as others located in other parts of the U.S. Those with experience and expertise in this area, as well as those who decide to learn this part of the business, are now prepared to open a boutique practice within your firm. You will make the boutique (micro-niche) practice profitable because you will extend special services and benefits to these boutique clients and because your expertise will allow you to charge a premium price for these services.

If you are ready to think about a profitable boutique practice within your firm, call us today at 732-397-8489 or email us at info@tpbteam.com.