A lesson learned

guest commentary by David Potts

When you reach a certain age you start beginning sentences with, "If I could do it all over again …”

I guess I’m getting to that age. I’m just happy that I’m still young enough to do many things over again, or more accurately to do things differently with better results.

One lesson recently learned … If I could do it all over again I wouldn’t have worked in “isolation” as long as I have. By isolation I don’t mean alone. I love people. I have hundreds of clients that I serve at least annually and I’ve always had employees. I have plenty of good friends. I don’t spend my life behind closed doors crunching numbers. By working in isolation I mean I have worked for years determined to succeed by working hard, producing top-notch quality work, and proud to be self-sufficient.

I’m good at what I do and over the previous 25 years I’ve been successful without “outside” influences.

Last year I joined a networking group consisting of about 30 certified public accountants from different parts of the United States. The group members all own local CPA practices. We meet for a day and a half, twice a year, in different parts of the country to discuss ways to improve our businesses and ways to increase our value to our clients. Participating in this group is one of the most beneficial things I have done for myself and for my clients. Participation in this group taught me a valuable lesson. (For those of you starting to think “So what” or “big deal,” take a minute to yawn, maybe stretch, but stay with me.)

Here’s my point.

There are probably 3,000 small businesses in the Greater Fort Smith Region with owners, who embody the American Spirit and demonstrate daily what it means to be self-sufficient, hard-working, and honest. They believe in self-determination and take responsibility for the outcome of their own lives. These business owners don’t look to our government for bail outs.

These traits should be highly valued and praised in a time in our country’s history where even the superrich expect the government to protect them from economic hardship. I believe these same highly desirable traits cause or encourage many small and independent business owners and professionals to work in “isolation” relying solely on their own ideas and efforts to succeed.  I believe this retards innovation and reduces creativity in their business.

It’s a common but outdated concept that great ideas come from a few geniuses working by themselves isolated in laboratories somewhere. The truth is great ideas aren’t developed in isolation. There is a reason why Silicon Valley is synonymous with advances in computer technology. There’s a reason why Detroit is associated with automobiles. There’s a reason that New York City is associated with fashion. These are areas where like-minded people live and meet and share ideas about their business and industry.

Your business or professional practice will also benefit greatly if you find like-minded people with whom you can share ideas and assist each other in solving common problems. The benefits will be to greatly increase your own creativity and innovative ideas resulting in increased profitability, stress reduction through faster problem resolution, and increasing customer and client satisfaction and loyalty.

If you own a small business in the Greater Fort Smith Region, you may be reluctant to exchange your ideas with like-minded people locally. Many of them may be your competitors, or work for your competitors. So how would you go about finding people to exchange ideas? Most industries or professions have trade associations that are organized to support and assist businesses in the industry. Begin looking there. The association may provide networking opportunities.

Look for classes and seminars on topics applicable to your business. Attend with the dual purpose of learning the topic, but also meeting people to develop a relationship that would be beneficial after the class or seminar. Search the internet for forums or communities related to your concerns. Learn to ask questions and listen attentively. For these relationships to be truly beneficial, they must be win-win relationships. You will need to share your ideas and help your new friends solve their problems too.

You might work in “isolation” and not even know. Until I began to meet with my fellow CPAs I really didn’t know what I was missing. I didn’t recognize that many times I was trying to reinvent the wheel. Generally, one of my compadres might have already tried a solution to our same problem and been successful (or not). I could avoid the pain and expense of the trial and error in finding my own solution. Or if I needed to know or find an expert in Canadian taxation, presto, I had a source.  If I wanted to know if I should use certain software, I knew somebody that had already implemented it and could save me the time, money and grief generally connected with new software installations.

If you are interested in innovation in your business, remember this: there are no original thoughts. Creativity and innovation are the result of group think and idea sharing. Innovative ideas are built on ideas that came before. If you are a small business owner working in isolation, do yourself a favor. Find a group of likeminded people to exchange ideas about your business problems and processes and spur your company’s innovation and value to your customers and clients.

About Potts
David Potts is a certified public accountant also accredited in business valuation. Owner of Potts & Company, Certified Public Accountants for more than 25 years, his practice focuses on small and medium size businesses and their owners in the areas of taxation, accounting and bookkeeping, business valuation and business advisory services. He is a Fort Smith native and a graduate of the University of Arkansas. You can follow more of his thoughts at ThePottsReport.com. Although every effort is made to provide you accurate and timely tax information, it is general in nature and not specific to your facts and circumstances. Consult a qualified tax professional to discuss your particular case.

Also, feel free to e-mail topic suggestions or questions to [email protected]