Christopher V. Flett

Accountants are an interesting crowd to present in front of. It seems then when they group together, there is a common ‘conservatism’ that falls over them. Then as your split them up, these personalities jump out at you. This held true for my presentation this week to Moss Adams in Seattle. We did a “What Men Don’t Tell Women About Business” event as part of their women’s initiative.

This title can be a bit weird in mixed audience (men and women) as I’m sharing with women how NOT to give up their power to men in their sphere. The same holds true for accountants (many Betas) dealing with clients (many Alphas). I was doing the presentation and volunteers were not in large supply. I get that it’s weird putting yourself out there in front of colleagues, but the crowd was watching me with careful, conservative eyes. Afterwards, I stepped outside and was inundated with questions by individuals and small groups. We went from very little engagement as a crowd to enormous engagement in small groups and individuals. There are a lot (and I mean A LOT) of very interesting and engaging people at Moss Adams and my most favorite part of the night was spending time with people afterwards. Even as I waited in the lobby of the hotel to meet a client for a drink, the professionals were coming up to me to thank me for the presentation and ask a question about bringing in clients and taking part in the business development of the firm. Overall, I made a great connection with about 45 of the participants and am meeting a handfull of them for coffee/lunch next month when I’m back in Seattle.

I headed back yesterday from Seattle to do an event for the Sororities at UBC last night. Basically a quick primer for the ladies on:

• Why a degree won’t get you a job
• What employers are really looking for
• How not to give up your power in business
• How to ask for what you want (not what you think you can get)
• And to introduce Campus CEO to those interested in starting their own businesses.

I desecrated the halls of learning by having the 100+ girls repeat that “excuses are for fucking losers“. It warms the cockles of my heart to think that I may be contributing to a revolution of political correctness. A handful of the gals hung out afterwards to have a chat with me and I’m consistently impressed with the level of passion/drive in some of these young ladies. They have the world by the tail, but have to stop criticising themselves. One 19 year old told me she was stressed out because she couldn’t figure out what type of career field she wanted to enter. I told her to give herself to 25 before she starts to get serious.

All in all, an interesting week. I’m finding that my little challenge to myself to quadrouple revenues while shaving overheard is starting to inspire some colleagues in the field. When doing the assessment of my own personal business cell phone, I spent about $5,000.00 last year on my own private phone. This year, I’m forecasting a total cost of $840.00 By shopping rates online, buying a $150 phone and refusing a contract, I’m now paying 16% of what I paid last year and will realize a savings of $4,160.00 this year or $346/month. When I kill the Blackberry service (replacing it with my free iTouch). That will drop another $720.00 off the yearly expense side. Remember that to make more money in business, it isn’t about cutting costs or about driving revenues. It’s about doing both. I’ve always been great at the building but shitty at the cost cutting. I’m starting to see the benefits of doing both sides of the equation. On another note,  I pay $28.00 a month to get the Sunday NY Times to the house. Now I get it to the Kindle for $1.00/Sunday or $4.00 a month. A savings of $24.00 per month or $288.00 a year. I’m still getting the same news, minus the advertising and the dirty fingers.