This week, I was down at Entrepreneurs Circle for a mastermind session with the owner, Nigel Botterill.
A couple of days earlier, Nigel had been on Channel 5’s Rich House, Poor House, which was my pre-Superbowl viewing.
If you haven’t seen it, two couples swap houses for a week.
Nigel and his wife, Sue, lived in Damo’s house (Damo is a courier driver from Lincoln). Damo and his partner Becki lived in Nigel’s.
They are purposely not told anything about the other couple, but start to get clues by meeting their friends/family during the week. They then meet at the very end.
Nigel found out that Damo wanted to start a car valeting business so, when they finally met, Nigel gifted him a proper head start: a van fully logo-ed up with Damo’s Diamond Detailing and fitted with valeting kit, a website, and a business coach via Entrepreneurs Circle.
On Tuesday, I turned up at HQ and Damo is there… valeting cars. So, of course, I got him to do mine.
But it got me thinking.
Damo needs an accountant.
But the accountant a brand new startup needs is very different to the accountant a high six-figure or seven-figure business needs.
What a startup needs
In the early days, it’s mostly about foundations and avoiding landmines:
– getting the set-up right (sole trader vs limited company, VAT, payroll)
– simple bookkeeping that stays consistent
– staying on top of deadlines
– cash discipline so the money doesn’t quietly disappear
– a calm voice when you have 20 questions and Google/ChatGPT is making it worse
That support is hugely valuable.
What changes when you hit £500k to £5m
Once you are doing proper turnover, the problems shift.
You’re not usually stuck because you can’t do the bookkeeping. You’re stuck because:
– margins are not where they should be
– overheads creep
– cash flow feels unpredictable
– you are working harder than ever, but not taking more home
– you do not know which numbers to pull to change the result
And this is where “we’ll do your accounts and tax return each year” becomes a problem.
Because year-end accounts tell you what happened.
They do not help you change what happens next.
Startups need an accountant to stop them falling over. Established businesses need an accountant to help them step up.
That’s why we talk about being a Profit Expert, not just a box-ticker.
So…which one are you right now?
A) Getting set up and building momentum
B) Established, but profits and cash have not kept pace with the growth
If you are in camp B, a good first step is one of these:
– benchmarking report: see how you compare to others in your sector
– Profit Diagnostic Review: model the key numbers and the profit levers
– tax diagnostic: check if there is money being left with HMRC unnecessarily
If you’d like to explore any of those, let me know and I can set one up for you…and we’ll get you from Poor House to Rich House!
Cheers
Jon
PS My car is sparkling clean. Thanks, Damo!