In 2022, we were pleased and proud that our team got nominated as a finalist at the Accountants Daily Awards. The nominees are: 

• Property Specialist of the Year Finalist – Gulshan Gupta
• New Partner of the Year Finalist – Rizal Ramzan
• Marketing Initiative – Marketing Team
• Mentor of the Year Finalist – Ben Walker
• Boutique Firm Of The Year Finalist – Inspire Team

It is a great honour to have our team recognized for their hard work and dedication in their respective areas of expertise.

From April 2020 to June 2022, this timeframe was coined as “Inspire 3.0” which marked the period of transition where Ben Walker became the sole owner of Inspire. 

His primary objective during this period was to mentor and elevate three Senior Accountants to the positions of partners and senior managers. The ultimate goal was for them to independently manage their own teams and clients without Ben’s direct involvement.

Over the course of these two and a half years, these accountants were able to significantly boost the company’s revenue, taking it from $1,650,000 to nearly $3,000,000. This marked a substantial growth and success for Inspire under Ben’s leadership and mentorship.

Ben Walker, Founder of Inspire Accountants and High-Performance Accountants share the lessons he learned from building an A-team in the recent webinar called, “Creating a High Performing Accounting Firm”.

Here’s what he said:–

Ben Walker, Founder of Inspire Accountants and High-Performance Accountants shares about learning from his expensive marketing mistakes.

Here’s what he said on the recent ‘Creating a High Performing Accounting Firm’ webinar –

Marketing, this is an expensive one but one that definitely helps with growth. 

There are problems at different stages.

Ben Walker, Founder of Inspire Accountants and High Performance Accountants is introducing HPA as the newest program to growing a fun, super rewarding accounting firm that runs like clockwork. 

Here’s what he said on the recent ‘Creating a High Performing Accounting Firm’ webinar –

We will be starting a group mentoring program that kicks off in March next year. We’ve already got dates in place for that program and it’s called High-Performance Accountants.

Over that time, you will grow your firm while working less hours and earning more profit. And hopefully, you ever thought possible in the first few months after starting that you will have clarified your vision for the firm that you can relate to.

These words I’ve chosen specifically because sometimes we had visions, I just did not see myself in. And you would understand where you’re adding the most value in your role, and have discovered some quick wins to grow and boost your profits – your firm’s profit and evaluation. And then we turn our attention to working through each of those remaining steps to creating a high-performance firm.

If you do want to have a chat about what that looks like, then please book in for what we call a Right-Fit Call, where we work out if we’re a right fit together to be able to help you.

Having the best in class technology and an integrated tech stack is KEY when it comes to running a high performing accounting firm. 

This includes using cloud only software as well as cutting edge computers and audio visuals.

Ben Walker, Founder of Inspire Accountants and High-Performance Accountants shares some tips that helped in creating a crystal-clear vision in the recent webinar called, “Creating a High Performing Accounting Firm”.

Ben Walker, Founder of Inspire Accountants and High-Performance Accountants share his tech struggles during the early days at Inspire. Here’s what he said:-

Inspire 1.0

The problem I had was using entry-level computers that we don’t update. Maybe we’re using the free or the light version of the software and you’re your own IT girl, or you don’t have the cash to invest in awesome equipment. These are the things I struggled with then. 

Inspire 2.0

Your team complained about their computers. But I see a lot of firms in this revenue range using all-in-one software packages like HandiSoft or MYOB. They do everything in your practice, maybe not everything, but most things in your practice but each thing potentially poorly. 

You have a server on-site, and you sign up with software that’s appropriate for maybe your current size, instead of the business you’re growing into using software that first came out 20 or more years ago. So, I think there’s just such good and efficient software now that we need to be using best-in-class software. 

Inspire 3.0 

Audio and video quality on Zoom and client meetings are poor. We had limited thought put into them. This is an awareness thing. That’s the reason why I’ve got a pretty crazy mic setup and headphones. I’ve got a 4K camera for my webcam. These are distinguished things I’ve made to give that online experience as best as I can with the equipment I can get access to, but also for our team who sit in client meetings every day.

And the other tricky thing was we don’t have scalable software such as enterprise-level CRMs or workflow managers.

Ben Walker, Founder of Inspire Accountants and High-Performance Accountants share some product mistakes he made at Inspire in the recent webinar called, “Creating a High Performing Accounting Firm”.

Here’s what he said:–

Some of the things I struggled with along the different stages is, in Inspire 1.0, I did anything for anyone. I didn’t have an ideal client, I didn’t really work out my pricing, I was too cheap. All these sort of problems and I was spinning my tires a lot trying to get off the ground there.

In Inspire 2.0, we built up a core group of clients, but there was limited or no capacity to upsell or discuss additional services like advisory or wealth creation. And the problem with that was the flat structure. I was reviewing everything. I remember I’d go to seminars or we had something to go to in Melbourne and on the way I’d be reviewing like three jobs on the plane.

I was struggling to keep up with the delivery, let alone upselling or thinking of that sort of growth perspective. And in terms of product, when it comes to Inspire 3.0, we weren’t at a size to do a full range of services in-house. Let’s say bookkeeping or financial planning.

Some people try it, but I think that dedication to a different business inside our business needs to happen at a size where you’ve got instant economies of scale. But the challenges here have been managing the partnerships. We’ve got Roze who’s on the call today. I had to absolutely learn that managing partnerships or referral partners is not easy.

Also, training the team to help their clients with additional specialized services. Now, things like business valuations or estate planning, they’re hard things to teach. Not necessarily from a technical perspective, but from a bedside manner. How do you guide a client through that process or have that discussion where you’ve got the main client you deal with and their spouse you’ve maybe never talked to before in the room? Like how do you have that chat? 

So they’re the kind of challenges I’ve had in Inspire 3.0, is that sort of really high-value services and making sure our team can deliver that.

Ben Walker, Founder of Inspire Accountants and High-Performance Accountants share his personal story and his purpose with accounting in a recent webinar called, “Creating a High Performing Accounting Firm”.

Here’s what he said:–

As a child, I watched my grandfather build a business where he was able to step back in early retirement to look after my grandmother when she got cancer. My grandmother is still around, by the way. My dad also inspired me when he ran his well-known corporate catering business, giving himself permission to go after his dream and do what he loved while being paid for it. 

And accountants have a huge influence on business success and small businesses – the backbone of our Australian economy. So, these are the things I believe in. 

My chosen path is to have a positive impact on businesses directly through Inspire, which I’m doing, but also helping other accountants build high-performing firms that give them and their clients the ability to put their families first and make a difference in the world.