Your clients are human.

And all humans want someone to care about them.

This is especially true for small business owners. Why?

Because some of them are overwhelmed. Some of them are confused. Some of them are exhausted. Some of them are worried. Some of them are anxious.

Some of them are in the midst of a storm. Some of them are in a crisis.Some of them are scared.

Yet all of them want to be heard, to be understood, to be thought about. All business owners want someone that cares. That listens. That's there for them when they stumble. To give them accolades when they do something good.

To be cared for.

This is a basic need that your client wants you to fill.

Because... there's not that many people (if any) that can care about them.

The banker just wants their money back.

The lawyer just wants to scare them into submission.

The customer wants more for less.

The employee wants an easy paycheck.

The spouse wants to be assured.

The children need to be fed.

Where is the business owner to turn? Where can they get real advice? Real insight?

Where can they be cared for?

Could that be you?

Is that how they feel about you now?

The typical accountant/bookkeeper/CPA is focused on compliance (taxes, closing the books, etc.). But...business owner clients don't care about that.

Imagine if (in addition to compliance tasks) you also cared about them.

How much more of an impact would you have on their lives?

How much more would your client value you?

How much more could you charge?

The answer to all three questions: Way More.

So, how can you do this? How can you show your client you care about them?

Three ways:

1. By really getting to know your clients.
   
   Do you know what your clients value? What they want from their business? Do you know what keeps them up at night?
   
   If not, your client will not think you care.
   
   By simply spending time with them each month in a 'human to human' (not 'accountant to human') manner - you'll gain their trust. You'll gain their future business. More importantly, you'll be someone they know that cares.
   
   
2. By really getting to know your clients' businesses.
   
   Most accountants/bookkeepers/CPAs know one side of their clients' business. The numbers.
   
   That's not enough.
   
   To really show your client that you care about their success you need to truly understand their business. You need to know what makes it tick. You need to know what drives the numbers.
   
   Why did revenue go down? What did gross profit go up? Why did their equipment utilization rate go down? Why is their employee turnover too high?
   
   Do you know? Do you care?
   
   Your client cares. And your client wants you to as well.
   
   
3. By helping them actually get what they want.
   
   It's not enough to know your clients and their businesses. You have to help them get what they want.
   
   They don't want you to be their friend. They want you to be an advisor that cares.
   
   Specifically, they want you to guide them on how to get what they want. On how to be wildly successful. On how to feel successful. On how to make more profit. More cash flow.
   
   They want you to be someone they can trust to tell them what to do to have a growing and more profitable business.
   
   Are you doing that now?
   
   Do you care?