After working with over 1,000 accounting firms, from solo practices to firms generating over $100 million, Petar Iliev has a pretty clear view of what separates firms that stay dependent on the owner from those that can actually scale.

Petar joins Yuri to talk about the shift from running a practice to building a business. What is the “standard”? What should you know, or prioritize?

They also get into how Petar would build an accounting firm from scratch, why he would choose a specific niche, and how he would handle everything from finding leads to onboarding and retaining clients.

Along the way, Petar shares some practical ideas around pricing, communication, automation, and AI that firm owners can start applying without completely rebuilding their businesses.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - How TaxDome identifies high-intent leads

0:50 - Meet Petar Iliev

3:14 - Electronic music and European work culture

9:00 - What successful accounting firms do differently

14:38 - Building a business that can run without you

20:40 - How Petar would build an accounting firm

28:20 - Niche marketing, industry events, and SEO

30:12 - Using lead scoring to find serious prospects

36:46 - Why speed wins accounting clients

40:30 - How successful firms use AI and automation

46:25 - Creating a better client experience

53:14 - Retention, pricing, and service packages

1:02:00 - Turning feedback into reviews and referrals

1:06:40 - Building a client status tracker with AI

1:07:38 - Balancing business and Brazilian jiu-jitsu

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/

CONNECT WITH PETAR ILIEV

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/p-iliev/

Website: https://taxdome.com/

Bad tax advice has never been easier to find.

Jasmine DiLucci is a tax attorney, CPA, and enrolled agent who has built a large online following by calling out illegal strategies and the people selling them.

She joins Yuri to talk about why unqualified influencers gain so much credibility online, why disproving their claims takes far more work than making them, and what people misunderstand about the tax strategies used by the wealthy.

Jasmine also shares how she took over her parents’ firm, fixed its billing and client problems, and grew it into a team of 45 people. They get into pricing, firing bad clients, building the right team, and how educational content helped Jasmine establish trust with better clients.

The wealthy still plan around taxes. They just understand that saving money is rarely worth risking the entire business.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Introduction

0:53 - Meet Jasmine DiLucci

2:42 - Becoming a tax professional in high school

4:28 - Why bad tax advice wins online

9:08 - Growing up in a family tax firm

14:07 - Taking over and fixing her parents’ firm

17:36 - Why accountants struggle to communicate their value

19:07 - How better clients eliminate most firm problems

27:20 - Growing the firm to a team of 45

28:40 - Jasmine’s accounting firm technology

31:55 - How Jasmine started creating tax videos

36:00 - Managing the demands of social media

40:07 - Creating a roadmap for legal tax planning

43:31 - The real risk behind viral tax strategies

45:48 - How wealthy people make tax decisions

49:32 - Closing thoughts and where to find Jasmine

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Newsletter: https://thefuncpa.beehiiv.com/

Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/

CONNECT WITH JASMINE DILUCCI

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@taxleverage

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taxleverage/

Website: https://jasminedilucci.com/

A $500,000 firm with employees may not leave its owner much better off than a $300,000 solo practice.

Aaron Zimmerman joins Yuri to talk honestly about that tradeoff and the kind of accounting firm he actually wants to build. After leaving his job and launching Brickhouse CPAs, Aaron grew the firm to roughly 75 clients and 120 tax returns while developing a niche serving real estate investors.

Rather than chasing headcount or revenue for its own sake, Aaron has focused on strong pricing, better-fit clients, and enough flexibility to spend time with his family. He shares how he found his first clients, why he started with three-tiered pricing, and how a solid financial foundation gave him the freedom to turn down work that didn’t make sense.

Aaron and Yuri also compare their technology, workflows, and client experience before digging into the bigger question facing many firm owners: once the business provides a great income and lifestyle, what exactly are you scaling toward?

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Introduction

0:41 - Meet Aaron Zimmerman

2:13 - The reality of owning a CPA firm

4:10 - Building a niche around real estate investors

6:21 - Aaron’s path from employee to firm owner

9:18 - Cutting through information overload and technology choices

11:30 - Preparing financially to launch a firm

15:36 - Finding clients through local real estate communities

20:48 - Raising prices as the firm approaches capacity

22:49 - The tradeoffs of hiring and scaling

28:22 - Projecting $250,000 to $300,000 in revenue

30:27 - Reducing administrative work before tax season

31:39 - Aaron’s accounting technology stack

40:51 - Managing workflows and creating a better client experience

43:55 - Aaron’s four-and-a-half-month honeymoon

47:16 - Controlling the workload instead of chasing more revenue

49:00 - Building a firm without building a large company

51:43 - Final advice and where to connect with Aaron

SPONSORS

Today' episode is sponsored by Stanford Tax: Helping you manage tax document collection in the smoothest way possible. Aaron does a deeper dive on how he uses Stanford Tax in his firm around 31 minute marker.

Go check them out: https://stanfordtax.com/

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Newsletter: https://thefuncpa.beehiiv.com/

CONNECT WITH AARON ZIMMERMAN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarondzimmerman/

Website: https://www.brickhousecpas.com/