EP428: Tyler Otto - How Saying No Will Help You Grow

The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast

“Nowadays I fire people. I fired one client last month. They didn’t even make it two months in. But the way they talked to my staff and scope creep and demanding a lot of things that we never agreed to, I let them go within a month and a half. Where before I would suffer those clients for a year.” -Tyler Otto

It is natural when starting a business to want to take any clients, no matter how much they demand of us, or how badly they might treat us. We want to be grateful for something because it is better than nothing.

But we don’t have to get stuck in this mindset once our work starts to speak for itself. We can increase our price, and remove negatively impacting clients and employees, without feeling guilty or disloyal.

The goal for our business is growth and hanging on to things that just aren’t working, isn’t going to help us grow.

Tyler Otto, President and Owner of Specialty Bookkeeping and Tax, is this episode’s featured guest. He has spent his career building systems for business success. In this episode, Tyler and Michael explore learning from past mistakes, getting your people and systems right, and why building strong workplace culture matters.

If you aren’t sure how to say no to difficult clients, want to hire a strong team, or just develop your company’s culture, then this is the episode to get you thinking about what the future could look like when you embrace your growth.

During this interview, you'll learn...

• The value of getting it wrong so you know how to get it right
• How to roll with the punches
• The importance of building a strong work culture

To find out more about Tyler, click here.

Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn.

You can listen to the UNAccountable Podcast at this link.

Time Stamps

01:36 - Tyler discusses his career journey 03:05 - Positioning yourself for success 05:16 - Getting it wrong, to get it right 08:36 - Managing problem clients 11:32 - Pricing for your value 16:36 - Rolling with the punches 18:55 - Future thinking 21:43 - Building a strong work culture 27:12 - Setting the rules & sticking to them