#257 How Alex Grew A Remote-First Firm to £1m In 5 Years

In this episode I sit down in a Southampton studio with Alex Norian of IWN Accountancy. Five years ago he was made redundant, had no savings, a newborn daughter and a wife who had stopped working. He's now on track for seven figures in his fifth year of trading, with a team of 12 and not a single office. Inside this episode you'll discover: - Why being made redundant in the middle of a pandemic turned out to be the best thing for his career - Why his first hire was a mistake, and the hire that changed everything - Why he'd rather his head of accounting prepared his firm's accounts than do them himself - How niching into property landlords let him win clients nationwide instead of within a 20 mile radius - The video system that's non-negotiable for every team member, and why it beats an hour-long sign-off meeting - Why he wrote his core values before he had a single employee, and the document that now runs to 50 pages - The three pillar framework that replaced timesheets and drives performance related pay - Why professional introducers have outperformed every other route to new business he's tried - What he did when growth doubled year on year, then suddenly stalled at half a million - The hiring mistake he says quietly damages the whole business if you cling on too long We also get into why the post-pandemic shift to remote working created an opportunity most firm owners still haven't taken, and how a remote firm can charge premium fees rather than compete on price. This episode is sponsored by Karbon, the practice management platform we recently moved to after 12 years on our previous system. If you've ever wondered how a firm grows this fast without an office, a big team or a decade of grind, this episode is for you. If you've enjoyed my podcasts, here's how you can get more value from me: **Free stuff** Get a free copy of my book The Four Pillars from here Watch a short 8 min video on how you can win new clients whilst you sleep here Join 1500+ accountants owners in the Profitable Accountant Free Facebook group **My inner-circle** Join 150+ accounting firm owners in the Profitable Accountants Community (the PAC) to get access to the tools, training and tribe to help you grow your firm - without wasting time and money doing it the hard way. Join the PAC NOW! For larger sole practitioner firms wanting more support, direction and accountability, access the Profitable Accountants Mastermind including 1-2-1 access to me If you're going to create an account and use OnlineJobs.ph use my affiliate link here and i'll get a few pennies back in return to fund my coffee addiction 🙂 http://store.onlinejobs.ph/?aid=377675 And if you haven't already, here's a link to sign up to Fathom AI for your video calls so you can generate those transcripts to help in your content writing.