I’ve founded two professional services firms over a span of 10 years; the playbook for starting an accounting, tax, or CFO advisory firm remained the same. I started Legacy Advantage in 2015, and within four years, we grew to serving more than 600 clients before it was acquired by Deloitte. In 2024, I launched Tee Up Advisors, a Fractional CFO firm providing advisory services to businesses with $2-$20M in revenues.

Just like every startup, I began Legacy with zero clients and no sales, so how did it grow? Your goal should be to get 10 clients within the first three to six months of starting your business. We started with one, then two, then three clients, and so on. Once you have your clients, the focus turns to providing exceptional service so your clients begin to refer you. This creates a self-sustaining flywheel that you can amplify through marketing.

If you’re just starting, you might be thinking: How the heck do I get clients? Here are some dos and don’ts to get you started.

DO:

1. Hustle

2. Hustle

3. Hustle

Get my point? Getting started takes hard work, but if you put in the work, you will be rewarded. Now, let’s get a bit more practical.

4. Let your network know what you're doing

When I started Tee Up Advisors, I had zero CFO clients. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I reached out to my network and let them know what I was doing. It was a fun process because I haven’t spoken to many people for over two years. It was great to hear how their lives have changed, and I also enjoyed updating them on my personal life.

In fact, doing this is also a great way to practice your pitch! It’s better to practice on them than on your first clients.

As they say, luck = opportunity + preparedness. Well, I got lucky. I was speaking with someone who just invested in two new companies that needed CFO services. Then, another friend had a friend who’s looking to acquire a company and needed some M&A diligence work. After doing a good job, he referred me to his investor group.

5. Attend networking events

When you’re just getting started, your time really isn’t valuable … yet, so attend every single networking event possible. Join a BNI or chamber of commerce. Go to Eventbrite and attend all the business-related events you can. Go to conferences. Go to dinners. Participate in competitions. Let people know what you do. There’s an art to networking, so before you go out, I recommend you read “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” It’s a classic people skills book and can be very helpful.

6. Schedule 1:1 coffee meetings

Whatever your niche is, it’s time for some creative brainstorming. Ask yourself what other businesses can you have a mutually beneficial referral relationship with? Then go beyond that. What other accountants? Lawyers? Insurance advisors? Benefits brokers? In my case, Legacy Advantage only provided bookkeeping, so naturally, our best referral partners were other accountants. We sent tax work to them, and they sent bookkeeping work to us. So, for example, if you’re a tax accountant focused on real estate, focus on networking with real estate lawyers, photographers, and marketers so that you can establish a powerful network.

7. Be consistent

Our lives are busy and we all have responsibilities. It doesn’t matter how much work you put in, as long as it’s consistent. 

If you commit to, on average, reconnecting with one person you already know and one new person every day, you will talk to 10 people in one week. Over one month, if you stay consistent, you will talk to 40 people. In six months, you will speak to more than 200 people! Though results aren’t guaranteed, you will absolutely maximize your chances to get at least 10 clients. Do a great job, serve your clients well, and let the flywheel do its magic.

Now you might be asking, when do you find time to actually do work? Realistically, you’re not going to be able to fill every hour with meetings, so in the hours you don’t have meetings, do your client work. Or squeeze in some work in the evening after your networking event. When we were starting up, I’d work until midnight or later to clear my docket, so that I had a fresh slate the next day.

It’s difficult to find balance during this time. However, many successful people will tell you that the goal isn’t to be balanced every day, but to have balance over the long run. Push hard for the first six months, get your first 10 clients, and then you can dial things back and have a bit more balance.

Getting started takes hard work, so work hard.

Don’t:

1. Waste money on advertising

In the beginning, you won’t be able to invest the amount of money into your marketing that’s necessary to reach the critical mass required to make that marketing effective. If you don’t have at least $1,000 per month to spend on building web content, ad campaigns, and promotional materials, then don’t focus on this.

2. Spend tons of time and money on your website

While it’s true you need a website, prospects and referral sources will check it to confirm that you’re running a real business, but that’s about it. Just go to WordPress or Squarespace, and build yourself a simple template website that’s clean and informative. Don’t worry about SEO, copywriting, blogs, and other content until later.

3. Worry over the aesthetics

It’s great to have a great logo, but if you think you need to have that logo and all of your corporate identity collateral perfect before you can present yourself publicly, it’s the wrong approach. Forget the aesthetics. I’ve seen too many people use this as an excuse to avoid diving into the networking game. You won’t get everything perfect anyway, so don’t worry about it.

4. Wait for people to call you 

They won’t. Get out there and hustle. You may be really good at what you do, but your superior skills won’t get you referrals. Don’t get me wrong; the quality of your work will show and translate to a great reputation. But that takes months and years. 

Work hard and it will pay off

Get out there. Network. Hustle. I know it can be scary. Networking takes practice, and there’s definitely a momentum to it. When you first begin, it will be a time drain, but as you get more and more practice, it becomes much easier. Remember: Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Getting your first 10 clients has nothing to do with your talent. It’s all about hard work.

Let me know if you want to chat further! I’m always happy to offer advice, support, or just be a sounding board. You can reach me at www.teeupnextgen.com.