About This Episode
If you have built a firm on the side while holding down a corporate job, or if you have gone out on your own but still feel like you are trading time for dollars without a clear way forward, this episode is worth your attention.
Terri Peters is a client of The Abundant Accountant who first worked with Michelle in 2022. She was at a crossroads: holding a CFO role while also running a boutique tax practice, feeling overworked, undervalued, and stuck. She describes her state at the time as feeling like a prisoner. She went through the 8-Week Sales Mastery Training, quit her corporate job shortly after, and built her firm from the ground up over the next three years.
This episode is a three-year check-in. Terri shares where she started, what shifted, and where she is now. She went from charging approximately $500 per month to enrolling concierge clients at $2,500 to $3,500 per month and moved from less than $100,000 in annual revenue to multiple six figures. She has built a small team, including support based in India, and she has done it without a formal marketing campaign. She also has time for her piano, her sound bowls, and a month-long trip to India.
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Listen to the podcast here
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Key Takeaways
- How Terri moved from approximately $500 per month to $2,500 to $3,500 per month per client by building a clear sales process and understanding what she was actually worth, before launching any formal marketing
- Why having a sales process in place before investing in marketing matters, and what Terri learned from building the foundation first
- How defining your ideal client, your pricing, and your sales conversation framework creates a structure you can duplicate, so you are not reinventing the process with every new client
- What the real difference is between investing in information and investing in transformation, and why Terri says the latter is what actually changed her firm
- Why the fear that comes up right after making a big investment is normal, and what Terri would say to firm owners who are hesitating for the same reasons she did
This Episode Is Best For Firm Owners Who Are Struggling With
- Running a side hustle firm while holding a corporate job and not knowing how to make the leap
- Feeling like a prisoner in their own practice, with no time for themselves, their family, or the things that matter outside work
- Charging fees that do not reflect the depth of the work they are actually doing for clients
- Having tried other programs or coaches and coming away without lasting results, and wondering whether anything will actually work
- Knowing they need to make a change but second-guessing the investment or waiting for the right moment
Featured Result: Three Years After Making the Leap
When Terri first enrolled in the 8-Week Sales Mastery Training in 2022, she was carrying two kids in college, going through a divorce, and charging around $500 per month for client work she was significantly underpricing. She took on debt to invest in the program. She was skeptical, and she says she blamed Michelle for how she felt after signing up.
Three years later, Terri is enrolling concierge clients at $2,500 to $3,500 per month, with some engagements higher depending on the number of entities. Her annual revenue has grown from less than $100,000 to multiple six figures. She has a virtual assistant, a team based in India, and is planning a month-long trip there. She hosts the Double D Triple T Podcast. She has not launched a formal marketing campaign. Her growth has come from the clients she has been able to enroll and retain through her sales process, her questionnaires, and the concierge experience she built.
She is also clear that she is still building. She sees the next stage, where marketing and outreach will come into play, as something she will be ready for because the foundation is already in place.
About Terri Peters
Terri Peters, EA, MSCTA, is the founder of Tax Time Ledgers, a virtual tax strategy and advisory firm serving clients nationwide. As an Enrolled Agent, Terri is federally authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS. She works with entrepreneurs, investors, and families to handle personal and business reporting while creating strategies that reduce taxes, protect assets, and build wealth with purpose. With a background that spans Deloitte, CFO roles, and leading her own boutique firm, Terri is known for her approach of tax strategy with soul. She is also the host of the Double D Triple T Podcast, where she shares real-world lessons and interviews to inspire confident financial growth.
Ready to Stop Feeling Like a Prisoner in Your Own Firm?
If you have a firm that still feels like a job you cannot escape, or you are torn between a corporate paycheck and the practice you are trying to build, this is the kind of shift that is easier to make with a clear process and support than on your own.
Learn more about The Abundant Accountant’s 8-Week Sales Mastery Training & Coaching Program and how it has helped firm owners like Terri build the foundation, raise their fees, and create a practice that works for their life instead of draining it.
Visit TheAbundantCall.com to book your call.
Resources Mentioned
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Episode 176 | Case Study | From Overworked Prisoner To Finding Freedom | Terri Peters’ 3-Year Transformation
Welcome to the Abundant Accountant. We have a very special guest. Our special guest is a client of ours from 2022. We’re getting a three-year update from her. She is the founder of Tax Time Ledgers, which is a virtual tax strategy and advisory firm serving clients nationwide. She helps entrepreneurs, investors, and families reduce taxes, protect assets, and build wealth with purpose. She was also working at Deloitte as the CFO. She now leads her own boutique tax firm. She’s also known for her signature approach to tax strategy with soul, and she does have a lot of soul. She’s also the host of the Double D Triple T podcast, where she shares insights and interviews that inspire confident financial growth.
Before we welcome our very special guest to the show, if you’ve created a firm, even if it’s on the side, like a side hustle firm, but it still feels like a job that you can’t escape because you don’t have any sales systems in place, and you don’t have a plan for freedom, it’s time to make a shift. You shouldn’t have to hit burnout to get to your next revenue goal, and you don’t need more clients. You need better quality ones, and you need a sales process to close and enroll them, and increase the fees to your current clients.
Here at the Abundant Accountant, I show you how to package your services, raise your prices, and work with high-margin clients who actually respect your time. If you want to respect your time and create your dream firm, then go to TheAbundantCall.com, and let’s lay out a roadmap that turns your firm into a real asset instead of feeling like a glorified job. Once again, that’s TheAbundantCall.com. Now, let’s welcome our very special guest, Terri Peters, to the show. Welcome to the show, Terri.
Thank you, Michelle.
The Crossroads: Working Job Vs. Boutique Firm
I’m so excited to have you here because today is very special. You are our client, and will always be because you’re part of the family, but you worked with us back in 2022. I remember you were at a crossroads. I don’t know if you remember, but I’m sure you can remember. I looked at our notes. You were working long hours. You were torn between this security job that you had and also running your own boutique stack strategy firm at the time.
You correct me if anything is wrong, but you feel undervalued, overworked, and constantly on the treadmill with no time to yourself, your family, or even your piano. I would love it if you could share a little bit about who you are and where you’re at in the country, and then we’ll dive into what has changed since 2022. It’s 2025, so it’s been about three years.
Everything you said was pretty much right? It’s funny. You mentioned that, and my heart went right back to when I made that decision. I had to draw the line in the sand and say, “No more building on the side.” I decided I’ve never been happy working for somebody else.
When did you quit your job? Was it in that moment, or did you wait?
Right when we finished our project together or worked together?
You did the eight-week sales mastery course and then quit, so it’s two months.
The Decision To Invest And Quit
I got to the point where I knew I needed to run my own firm, but I didn’t feel like I had something to sell that I could charge what I was asked, like what we were working on and I came up with $2,500 a month and I thought, “I need to do more than a tax return for $2,500 a month. I need to learn these tax strategies.”
There are several things we’ll talk about, but one of the biggest things I got out of your program was to make the money I wanted to make and to be able to have the life that allowed me to pick and choose who I wanted to work with, what I was going to charge. I wanted to charge a lot, but I wanted to be able to give value. I needed to do more work. All these wants are great to lay out. I then started thinking, “How do I get there?”
That’s when I started with the Mark Kohler Certified Tax Advisor Network because that guy knows every single strategy out there. I thought, “I’m going to learn that.” Now, I’m his implementer. I implemented Mark Kohler’s strategies. I utilized my sales mastery course to be able to vet which clients I want to work with. When I had the initial call, I had all the questionnaires that I had started back with you. I haven’t changed one or two questions.
Once you create the foundation, that’s for everything. Let’s go back in time because, in 2022, looking back, you said you wanted to have a career and a life that made you say, “I’m happy. I feel free,” and you knew something had to be different. You also mentioned that you were done making someone else’s money, while being held back from your dream. What did that feel like at that time?
I felt like a prisoner. I was working non-stop. They could fire you in a second. During that whole COVID time, I got fired from one job because I wouldn’t follow some of the policies they had in place. I don’t mean to be political. That’s not what I’m saying it for. I’m just saying that was a situation, and I had to go get another job. I’m old. I don’t need this stuff. I’m good at what I do, and I was holding myself back, thinking it was security, then I finally took your class.
I also watched you as a business owner, Michelle. It wasn’t just your course that I took. You’re a very good businesswoman. All the way from your sales, all the way to when you meet with someone to even determine if you want to work with them, and then closing the deal. You’re very good at it. I close, but I closed differently. You’re a great salesperson, and you also deliver because I’ve been in the course. If somebody is paying for something and someone is going to deliver what I’m paying for, I’m going to tell the world about it. I talk about it all the time with my other colleagues. It’s very important what you do.
Don’t sell yourself short. Whoever is listening to this. If you’re looking for a way to build a foundation for your business, number one, start with who you are. How much time have you put into building your career? I mean, all the way from college and the things that you gave up because you had to take tests or take this class or that class or whatever.
Don’t sell yourself short. Your business foundation starts with recognizing who you are and the years you’ve invested—college, exams, continuing education, late nights studying, and hard-earned experience. When you add up those… Share on XAll those hours, studying and preparing, and then all the continuing education for keeping licenses, and all the different work that we do. All the times we have to go back and read the instructions on a tax form or whatever. All the meetings that we have, all the different things that we’re spending time on, that we’re working to build our intelligence, our knowledge, our experience. All those things are very important. When you add up all those hours and quantify, even $100 an hour, I charge more than that.
I don’t know if you remember, but you were vomiting your worth. I don’t even know what you told me when you ended up enrolling with me. Let’s get back to that time. Before joining the eight-week sales mastery course, you were vomiting your worth, and something clearly has to change. You wanted to sell more tax planning and tax strategy, but it wasn’t more about the technical knowledge you needed. You needed to learn how to get past scarcity. What were your biggest fears and hesitations about enrolling in the eight-week sales mastery course? You were like a 180 different person back then, Terri. You were not happy with me.
I wasn’t. I thought you were aggressive. I felt like I got talked into something that I regretted right after. I was excited, then all of a sudden, I committed to the cost. I didn’t have that sitting in the bank account to spend. I have two kids in college and am starting over after a divorce several years earlier. I was mad at myself, but I knew in my heart, I made the call, I talked to you, and I wanted to do it. Everything we talked about was right, but then I got scared, and so then I blamed you.
That was my mistake because it turned out that the lessons I learned from you. I tell you that every once in a while, if I ever get a chance to talk to you or respond to something on social with you. I love what you do. I love how you do it. It has to be done that way. It’s your style. I read this book called Let Them, and so I’ve learned. I let you do that because you’re good at it. That’s your style. That’s what you do. You’re not my style. I have a totally different style, but all the stuff I learned from you, I use every day.
I love that. As you said, you got scared, then sometimes we don’t take responsibility and ownership for that. At the time, you said you blamed me. At the time, you felt like you got talked into something, or I was aggressive. Those are all the things that made you mad at yourself. What was that thing that got you passed that to say, “I’m going to be open to this. I knew I needed to make a change because I think a lot of fur owners are probably thinking the exact same thing you said. They make decisions, as I’ve heard.
Afterwards, about two months later, I usually hear, “I’m so sorry, Michelle. I didn’t mean any of that,” but in the moment, that’s the stuff that comes up. It’s the fear. You blame someone else. You think, “I got talked into something. I was sold something.” I don’t remember the word you told me in the email or in the phone call that we had. How did you get past that so you could say, “I found money, even though I was divorced and had two kids in college, and I didn’t have this cash sitting aside.”
How did you even open up your mind to listen to what you were learning and say, “I’m going to see what’s inside this program. See what Michelle has to teach, and start to own my value and stop discounting and charging the fees I want, so I can have a different life.” How has that shifted internally for you, for other firm owners who might be thinking the exact same thing you were, or maybe even had a call with us, did not enroll because they thought we were too aggressive, or felt like they were getting talked into something, because that’s just a perception.
It is a perception. I’m going to speak for myself because I haven’t talked to anybody else about how I feel. There are a few people in our group that I have become friends with since. It’s been a nice relationship. When I first got in, I had that fear because I charged it. I was like, “I got this credit card.” That’s like the last thing I was supposed to be doing, but I realized I’m investing in myself and I’m investing in my business. That’s debt, and it’s okay. I knew without a doubt where I wanted to go, and I had to do this, but I didn’t know Google very well. That made it even more frustrating. That was 90% of my frustration.
Finding Freedom: I’m investing in myself and my business. That debt is okay, as long as I knew without a doubt where I wanted to go.
I saw in another meeting that I saw a few minutes ago, there’s somebody who doesn’t know how to use Google. I don’t know if it’s us older ladies or whatever, but I use it all the time now. You helped me break the ice, but it was listening to some of the other people that when I figured stuff out, and then I would hear them talk, it was always us older ones. I started looking stuff up on YouTube, and I educated myself. I started using it in my business. Now I have Google Workspace, so I have graduated.
That was so funny.
I experienced the frustration of not being able to communicate and turn stuff in, trying to do this and that, and not having papers in front of me, but I needed to get myself into the digital world at that level. I know how to use my computers and use my software, but that was a big education. A lot of us will be going through that. Don’t be afraid of it. It can be your friend. Also, I like how you showed us how to build questionnaires. That’s when things started changing for me. When it started becoming personal, like I wasn’t fighting with the technology and trying to figure out how to use Google and how to send you something and share this document and how to copy something, all that stuff drove me up the freaking wall.
Once I started getting a little bit more comfortable with it, and then we started going through doing the questionnaire, defining our ideal client, then it became part of my own essence, my heart that I am because I’m a hippie. I like the sound bowls and crystals, and walking on the beach, taking my paddleboard out there with dolphins. I love it that kind of stuff, yoga, Pilates. I’m not a typical accountant, as you can tell. I’m a very good accountant, but I’m an extrovert. I externally process everything.
Ninety-five percent of the people who are working with us are introverts.
Shift From Scarcity To Abundance & Defining Value
I scare people sometimes, but I found my niche, and I’m very good at what I do. Mark Kohler has been a blessing to me. He’s a friend, he’s a mentor. I’ve learned so much stuff from him, as far as the strategies. To implement them, I get to work with so many different people. Even though I went from rags of like, “I don’t want to invest in myself because I’m afraid, because I’m the primary breadwinner, blah, blah, blah,” to “I did it.” My husband said, “Terri, you’re investing in yourself and your business. What is the problem? We’ll be fine.”
Do the work and get through the annoying part of Google, then start touching into who I am and what my essence is really like. I get to freaking create myself. What the heck am I complaining about? When I started doing that, that’s when I came alive. That’s what strategies came alive. That’s what my billing came alive.
That’s when you stop blaming me for everything.
I totally stopped at that point. I think I sent you an email to thank you and apologize. I’m pretty sure.
I don’t remember, but I’ve been told that. There have been others. You’re not the only one.
Everybody has a different personality, and I can be tough. Terri Peters, a lot of times people say, “You don’t want TFP to come out.” When TFP comes to the party, I don’t like that side of myself. Sometimes someone is going to get that from me, and I hate that. That’s because I’m so enmeshed with my clients, I’m on it. They’re like my family, but you have given me the ability to create a family of love between myself and my clients, whether they’re business owners or personal.
It’s important to create a loving, family-like relationship with your clients, whether they’re business owners or individuals. Share on XNot everybody is going to be in my concierge program, but I have great pride in it. I’ve started a podcast, interviewing people who are doing different things to help others, whether it’s a business idea or an investment opportunity or a way of doing something, or some kind of tax strategy. I’m starting to realize how much it is, how much the heart is important to me. I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this. I’m sure that people get a lot of different things out of it, but I got how I can personalize my firm to me. I attract the people who are looking for that kind of relationship. I think it’s a beautiful thing.
That’s what allowed you to charge more. I would love it if you could share. I know when we first met, you were not confidently enrolling clients. You were undervaluing yourself. You were constantly on that treadmill with no time for yourself, family, or even the piano, but you also weren’t charging enough. Can you share with us financially the increase, the wins, the gains of where things were back in 2022, and where things are at now? I know you’re charging anywhere from about $2,500 to $3,500 per month, per client. You know your value now, and you are living on your terms. If you could share that difference and the increase in gain, that would be lovely.
Before, I was charging what I thought I could charge, whatever everybody else was charging from the different firms in town. I put a lot more into the returns than I was doing. Other companies took numbers and put them in the returns, and I was actually going through the books. That’s where I was spending a lot of time doing things and not getting paid. I had to start with people who didn’t have a lot.
Until I met Kohler, I never felt like I could charge a lot because I would never pay some of those fees just to do a tax return, unless it was a huge tax return. When you can give value and content, I’m talking about, do they have their liabilities in order? Do they have spending problems? Do they have a credit card issue we need to address together to come up with a plan of action to get somebody out of that? I constantly use your favorite thing, from scarcity to an abundant mindset.
That’s where I was before, and I started raising my rates. Some people left, some people stayed. I didn’t have like a big steady thing. I had a handful of monthly clients and my tax people. I finally got to the point where I was able to start doing the bookkeeping and accounting, and started to set up a little bit of a program. It was maybe $500 a month. I could work my way into that, and then all of a sudden I’d say, “Bookkeeping is going to be this much a month.” I was starting to increase that little bit. When I got my certification from Kohler, that’s when I was like, “Now, I can charge my rate.” I’m glad I did because I’m having the best time of my life.
You went from an average $500 a month and now $2,500 to $3,500 a month.
Some will be more than that. It depends on how many entities they have. It’s a lot of work, but I’ve been able to bring on a whole accounting team in India. In fact, I’m going to India. I’m going to be there for a month. I’m going to be spending three weeks with my team and my manager over there, then one week for myself.
I would never have been able to do this if I didn’t take that first step with you and learn my value, and then learn the tools like getting the questionnaire in order, having a process for the sales calls when they call and then you have that first call, and then bring them to the next call and then deciding whether you are going to invite them to the concierge program or not, and then having these processes that I never thought of. My brain is not thinking about processes. I’m an idea person. That’s why I’m not your typical accountant.
Again, it’s important to remember that because you didn’t have that. It doesn’t matter how many technical skills, how much you learn from Mark on the technical side, or on the tax planning side. If you can’t sell it, it doesn’t mean anything. How would you share that with another firm owner now going through that and realizing that the technical how-to comes second? You knew enough technically. You just didn’t have the sales process foundation. You could then put oil on the fire to make it really go.
Gas in the fire. I do the same thing. To me, it’s more like I have I had my skill set. I knew I was good with people because every client I ever worked with, whether it was somebody else’s or my own, I’ve always gotten along great with the clients. I knew I had a gift of gab and a gift of helping people learn difficult things, being able to explain so they could understand it, and that they’re heard and listened to, whatever. I always knew that that was there.
When you have the technical stuff, that’s great, but to run a business of your own, you have to do some kind of sales course. I took marketing and all that stuff in college, but it’s different because I had to learn new technology, all the Google stuff. Now it’s like everywhere. I had to learn how to get into Zoom calls with a group of people and get people’s time, and listen to people say things. You want to tell them to stop talking.
Finding Freedom: When you have the technical skills, that’s great. But to run your own business, you also need some form of sales training.
Other times, wanting to ask three questions in a row, feeling like other people are thinking the same thing about me, like stop talking. I had to learn how to behave in this new digital environment that I normally didn’t have to be in. It’s one thing to be on a call with my client, but to be in a room with all these different people. You set me up because I did my certification program later.
Putting the gas on the fire.
Yeah, because then I’m talking to all tax attorneys and everybody else. It’s been a great journey, Michelle. I had to reach back the other day to tell you how much I love you and how much I’m so grateful for the program you have and for all the people that are out there. If you’re trying to figure it out, you don’t have to be like me, or you’re Chatty Cathy talking about the storm. There’s nothing wrong if you want to be that person who just wants to do the work, and you don’t want to have a lot of communication.
If you have the processes in place, you can still totally communicate in a way that your client loves without you actually having to stop what you’re doing and have that communication. I know there are a couple of people who have programs that they’re trying to teach, and the text stacks. You can automate things. You can ChatGPT and make tone something a different way and jazz it up a little bit.
There’s no AI that’s going to replace the sales call. Not in this lifetime. I think many firm owners like you are listening right now who might feel like they’re on that treadmill, like you once described. What would you say to them if they’re scared to make that investment in themselves, or they think the next software is going to solve their sales problems, or they think the next certification is going to solve their sales problem? What would you say to someone who keeps circling back to security, scarcity versus abundance? What would you share with them?
Remind me of the second part, but the first part of that question, you’re never going to be secure in anything. If I have to depend on somebody else, that is creating unnecessary unrest inside of me. I knew that I didn’t have security. I thought I did, but I just had a steady paycheck. There’s a difference between security and a steady paycheck. I make multiple six figures right now. I was not making even $100,000 a year when I first got started. I haven’t even started marketing yet because I’ve been working on my skill set, and now I’m working on my admin stuff.
What I wanted to say to people who are trying to decide what they should do, get the next app, or do the next certification, put a halt on everything and invest in yourself. That’s what I’ll say. When you work with Michelle’s program, what I like about it is that if you took the time to go through it, you weren’t rushing through the program, and you went into the internal part where I had to come up with a radio frequency name and give it a station number. I had eighteen things on there of what I expected of the type of clients, and have them sit right next to me.
Finding Freedom: For people trying to decide what to do next—whether to get another app or another certification—put a halt to everything and invest in yourself.
Honestly, Tara, as you said, you haven’t even started marketing yet. There are so many people that we talked to. When I asked, “What’s the biggest challenge around your sales and your firm?” They say, “I need more leads.” They say lead generation and marketing. I’m like, “No, that’s not your problem.” What would you say to a firm owner who thinks that? You get the difference. You get that you have to have those internal parts. You’re doing multiple six figures, and you haven’t even started marketing yet. What would you say is the difference between learning and implementing and doing marketing or spending money on ads versus learning how to enroll, how to sell, and creating a sales process and structure to follow and communicate with your clients?
I’ve had to think about that a lot because everybody is doing all these marketing campaigns or whatever. I have a virtual assistant now. He does do social media posting to get followers. I do have my podcast, but that has all been happening recently. He has branded it. He has my brand, and he is dropping out little tax tip. That’s not bringing in any business for me, or any calls, but it’s actually fun to do. What I’m doing is I’m branding myself. I’m seeing what I share with people. What do I want people to know, and how do I want it to be out there?
It’s very creative. I don’t have to come up with the creation. They are. I love these guys. It’s got Paolo and his fiancée Gabrielli, if they’re out there tuning in. I absolutely love them. They’re getting married soon, but they’re a great team for me. They’ve helped me to see who I truly am. They are such a couple of cheerleaders for me. Team Terri is always coming out with these cool things. I haven’t put the time into the big marketing. My son-in-law actually has a marketing agency, but he’s like, “You let me know when you’re ready to fly, and I’ll take it from there.”
You haven’t had the marketing.
I don’t want that much work.
How has learning the sales process and learning how to sell and roll, and overcoming objections helped you get to multiple six figures in your firm versus just doing the 100,000 without marketing? Most firm owners would say, “How do you do that if you don’t do that with marketing?” That’s what I’m saying. It’s not about that. It’s about charging more and all the other things that you’ve implemented.
Financial Transformation And Process Building
I had a point to my comment that I was making. I have all that getting started, and that’s what most people start with. I never wanted to do that in the first couple of years. I’m generally good at what I do. I know that anybody I work with is going to love my work. I don’t mean it in an arrogant way, either. Confidence is the difference. I didn’t want to have so much work and then not have a process in place because it was driving me crazy with the process.
I was trying to handle it by myself, and when I went with you, it helped me get some organizational skills and processes in place and things like that, so that I could duplicate more easily. That gave me that solid foundation that we talked about earlier. The solid foundation is when you know that you have a process from start to end, and you don’t have to keep wasting time reinventing the wheel, so you can just duplicate it at whatever level you want.
Try it out with your firm and see if it’s working, and get it to be comfortable, and everything is moving, and fine-tune it, and then you go out and market. You’re ready. You’ve just got to hire more bodies, more people who want to do the same thing with you and share the same vision that want to work with you, and you can grow your firm. I feel like the marketing coming too early for me would have overwhelmed me. I’ve been able to build a beautiful practice, and I have the time to play around on my piano. I’ve had the time to play on my sound bowls, and have the time to hop on a podcast, or send an email to somebody who has helped me get to where I am.
I’m just getting rolling. I’m having a blast. I’m having the time of my life, and it’s all because I stopped being afraid, and I don’t have scarcity anymore. When I started realizing who I am through your program, I know this sounds weird, but I found abundance when I started writing that stuff down about myself. I was like, “Wow. Alright. I like that. I like those things about myself.” I’ve been able to work on them and keep myself in space to continue forward.
I stopped being afraid, and I no longer live in scarcity. When I started to realize who I am, I found abundance. Share on XI love that you found abundance inside the Abundant Accountant eight-week program.
Absolutely. Find abundance in Abundant Accountant.
I’m curious, Terri, if you hadn’t taken that leap to work with me, even though you were very not happy with me in that sales call that we had, where do you think you would be today if you didn’t take that leap? I know you were a prisoner before. You felt like you didn’t have any security, but obviously, you took that leap, and you trusted me enough to say, “Whatever,” even though you got scared and blamed me, too. If you hadn’t done all that and taken the leap and trusted the process, where do you think you would be today?
I believe there are many passes in the same place. I don’t know what my path would have been if I hadn’t started with yours. I resonated with it when I went back, reviewing the stuff that we did. I started realizing I truly am that person whom I created when I was starting with you. That confidence has brought me to the space I am in now. If I had gone a different path, I might financially be where I wanted to be because I would have still found Mark Kohler, all that stuff. Everyone listens to his YouTube videos. The guy is amazing. I would have found that no matter what.
I don’t think I would have been settled inside about like this is my business. I’ve created this from scratch. I’ve created it all the way down to who my avatar is, what my ideal client is, what I want to offer to my clients, what packages I want to have, how I’m going to price them, how I’m going to talk about it on a sales call, how I’m going to be able to ask the questions to ask and get under somebody’s hood to find out where they’re afraid and what they’re trying to accomplish, and get under the hood of somebody to get to their heart to find out so you can help them.
Those questionnaires are amazing. We start building that value. I have so much more to bring to the plate. I think if I went a different path, I would hope that I find what I found with you, but I can’t imagine not having it. Let’s put it that way.
I can only imagine. You get to live your life and have peace and freedom and play your piano and do your sound bowls, and not be stressed out against deadlines all the time. That’s what you’ve created. You created a business that works for your life instead of creating yourself a job. For the firm owner tuning in who is still stuck in that “I’ll try to figure this out on my own for another few months,” or stuck in a scarcity mindset, or “You know what? I’m going to work this job a few more months, and then I’m going to go all in on my side hustle firm,” or for the firm owner who feels like a prisoner, what would you tell them right now knowing that you’re talking to yourself where we first spoke, if you can remember that?
The angry one, the prisoner, the one who felt like you got talked into anything, like the Negative Nancy. What would you say to that firm owner who wants something different, but hasn’t made the call to make an ask to change and say, “I can’t do this anymore on my own. I need help.” What would you say to that firm owner if you were to talk to yourself back in early 2022?
The Power Of Transformation Over Information
I’d say the reason why we’re all frustrated, as I was, was that you don’t know where to go. You don’t know what to do. You don’t know what you need. You don’t like where you’re at, and you know that you’re capable of more, but where do you go? There are so many people taking advantage of us. There are ads, and it turns out to be nothing, and whatever. You spend a lot of money, and you don’t get anything out of it.
I hear that all the time. People contact us. They’ve spent $20,000 to $30,000 on other coaches and other programs. As you said, it’s not delivering. What would you say to that person who is stuck because of all that noise out there?
I feel for them because I was the same way. You said something about if you don’t do something today, how are you going to change tomorrow? It’s something like that. You’re still going to have the same situation, and I thought to myself, I already took your time. I know it’s going to be the right thing, because of money? It’s ridiculous. I get why people don’t want to. It’s because there are so many opportunities to be taken advantage of. I went through it. I went through this program, and if you guys look me up, I’m Terri Peters. I have a podcast. It’s Double D Triple T, so DDTTT.me. That’s my podcast. That’s who I am.
I would not be doing that if it weren’t for what happened with Michelle. I went on a path. I met Michelle, I learned about myself, I defined what I wanted, how I wanted to feel in my office, with my clients, what kind of relationship, what kind of energy, and then what kind of work I wanted to do, and what kind of programs. I defined all of that stuff. I didn’t have to just wing it and take whatever came my way. I had a blueprint of what to do. Because of that, I was able to successfully get the next thing.
If you’re looking for what the next step is, you want to listen to Terri Peters. I’m not embarrassed to say, because I’m actually proud to say that I took Michelle’s course. I don’t look back at that and think, “What a waste.” I feel like that right there is why I’m where at now and why in the next year, my life is going to completely change because I know that that’s when the marketing starts. I’m still building. I’m not done. It takes time. I still get stuff I’m ironing out.
I appreciate you sharing that. I think there are a lot of people. I don’t remember exactly how you were the same way, whether you were invested in other coaches and programs, and didn’t get anything out of it. I think for many accountants, bookkeeping firm owners, and tax firm owners, they invest a lot in what I call information, the what to do. Here at the Abundant Accountant, Terri, you tell me from your point of view, you invest in transformation, and how to do it with accountability.
When you get information only, you’re going to hit roadblocks without coaching, without feedback. You get caught up in busy work. You watch videos. No one reviews anything. You get sucked into all these free webinars and emails, and then you’re like, “No one is checking up on me anyway, so why am I going to do it?” Here was different because you had a transformation. Information without proper support doesn’t actually lead to transformation.
What we believe here at the Abundant Accountant is that it’s critical to have the support, to have people get you past your limiting beliefs and your fears, which I did on that first call. That’s why you hated me, and then stay true and focus on your goals and what you want, which is to quit that job and play piano, and make a lot of money. What you did was invest in transformation, which was the team of experts to walk you through the steps to guide you.
As you said, you don’t know where you want to go. You know you were capable of more. We just led you on that path. We were like that GPS that got you from point A to point B. That’s where the key is. Maybe a bunch of other programs and coaches don’t provide that, and then people feel like, “It’s another thing that didn’t work. I got burned,” or whatever that is for them.
I have an ADHD coach. I’ve got a public speaking coach. Coaching is something we’re always going to be doing if you invest in yourself and grow. There are always new skills to learn. There are so many cool things to learn that you don’t learn if you don’t go out and seek them. You bring that good energy.
I was just saying you were like the other firm owners, where you see a bunch of ads for things. You think you’re going to get taken advantage of. What I’m saying is you’ve experienced working with us, but other firm owners might meet us through a Facebook ad. What I’m saying is that the difference is information versus transformation.
I keep getting these tangents because it hits me. It has affected so many areas, but you’re absolutely right. There are so many things and coaching that you can do, but all those are added once you get that foundation. Michelle’s isn’t like individual coaching, like I would with my ADHD coach. Yours was to define who you want to work with, define what kind of clients you want to have, define what kind of money you want to make, or define what your sweet spot is.
How are you going to talk to a client and get paid up front?
Instead of an hour, spend fifteen minutes on a call. It’s things like that that I still have a hard time with because I am a talker. I’m not your salesperson, but I’m going to say that I started with a life coach for three sessions, trying to decide what the heck I’m going to do with my life. That’s when I found Michelle, and I’m like, “Alright.” That was from a Facebook ad, by the way, years ago. I kept seeing that, and I was like, “What is that?” That’s when we did the call. That’s when I signed up, and then I was panicked. It turned out to be a good thing.
Everything else that I’ve done is an addition to that foundation. I still have all these things in place. I still have my Google request for their banking information, and all that stuff. It’s pretty spectacular. If you’re looking for a place to start, start here, and then all these other little pieces are like extra scoops of ice cream that you’re going to pile on and then do the whole sundae thing. Michelle, what you do is different than anybody else because you’re not selling anything. You’re helping us build a process. Every step of the way, you and Denise literally answer and read everything we write because it’s a shared document.
You have all your homework. We have a team of four reviewing your homework.
It’s like the teacher. That’s the difference. You’re helping us build something. You’re not just telling us stuff and helping. I have a book that has all the stuff in it that I built for my business on.
The sales process binder.
Exactly, and I pull it out.
Thank you so much for being here with us on the Abundant Accountant. It was an honor to have you.
Thank you for asking me. I’d love to have you on my podcast in the future. This is what it’s about. We’re all trying to help each other be the best version of ourselves. Michelle has found a sweet way to do it that will bring you into a community where you can get over being nervous on a call, telling someone, “This is how much it’ll cost,” and not feeling embarrassed, scared, or worried. You’re going to learn so much stuff in that program that you’re going to take with you for the rest of the time you have in your business. Even if you’re working for someone else, it still works. I needed it for running the business, and it was exactly what I needed. I’m proud of myself for saying yes back then, even though I didn’t do it most nicely.
I know. I was like, “I don’t know how this one is going to go.”
You let me come in. I love this whole situation that you’re being able to share from rags to riches, and from anger and frustration, and fear to abundance, joy, and peace. That, to me, is transformational. It really is.
That’s what we do. We help you transform your life, and you did. Thank you again, Terri, for sharing. It’s so lovely, and it has been an honor to have you here and watch your growth over the last three years.
Thank you, Michelle.
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What an amazing episode with Terri. It is such a powerful reminder that nothing changes until you make the decision to do something different. A few years ago, when I first spoke to her, she was exhausted, undervalued, and circling back to the false security of working for someone else. She could have stayed on that treadmill. Instead, she took action. She reached out for help because she saw my Facebook ad. She invested in herself, even though she was very mean and not nice about it. She built the firm of her dreams on her terms.
She is now confidently enrolling concierge clients from $2,500 to $3,500 a month of recurring revenue per client. She has systems that give her the freedom of choice and confidence to say no when something isn’t feeling right. If you’re a firm owner, you own a bookkeeping, fractional CFO, county, or tax firm, and you’re thinking, “That’s exactly where I’m out right now, Michelle. I’m overworked, underpaid, and unsure how to shift. This is your moment. Don’t wait for another tax season to pass by. Don’t wait for another year of burnout to go by.
Go to TheAbundantCall.com and book your call with me. Let’s schedule a time to talk about how you can stop discounting, how you can get off the treadmill, how you can start charging your worth, and how you can finally build the firm that supports your life instead of draining it. Terri made the choice, and you can too. The only question is, are you ready to stop waiting and start creating the version of freedom and abundance in your life? If you are, go to TheAbundantCall.com. Schedule your call with my team and me. We look forward to speaking to you soon. I’ll see you in the next episode.
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