Episode #4 with Diana Halenz

Jamie Gruol: Hello and welcome back to Diary of a Practice Owner. I am your host, Jamie Gruol

so we have our co host Jessica Smith and Diana Halenz with us today. And I’m so excited to share with you Diana’s story.

It is very inspiring for the person that wants to build a lifestyle business. And she is a tax and accounting practice owner who is based in the Florida Keys. Her career started in LA and the internal audit department of Prudential and after three years of real estate and insurance contract audits, she joined the

Deloitte Consulting, where she stayed for 20 years at Deloitte. She worked in healthcare finance, public bond administration, hospital revenue cycle enhancement, and custom financial development and implementation. She left there in 2013 to try new things. She moved to the Florida Keys to get warm once and for all and to indulge in her passion for scuba diving. She started her CPA firm in 2014 out of the spare bedroom and currently employs a CPA and a CFP candidate and each are based in different States. So Diana is building a virtual practice. Everyone we’re so excited to hear how she has done this, but before we go there, Diana, you have had a Very interesting journey to having your own practice.

So what led you to making this big leap and starting your practice? It sounds like definitely it was a scuba diving draw, but how did you make that big decision?

Diana Halenz: um, I mean it was just really time for a change. It was time for something new in my life. And so I just Didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it And moved to the Florida Keys So after about a year of diving and teaching diving and just kind of living that lifestyle I realized I was too young to retire But this job was not one I was gonna retire in and so it kind of goes back to high school Bookkeeping right?

I took this class and I loved it and I’m like, I always kind of wanted to own my own practice I think I have the tools This would be really cool, but I’m on an island. So, I, you know, I left my network in Pennsylvania. I’m, you know, on an island and maybe there are small businesses down here who could use my help. So, 

um, you know, I, I met with the Chamber of Commerce and I did all the things that I thought you were supposed to do and got nowhere. And my boyfriend at the time said, You know, everybody’s doing things online. Now this was 2013, right? Everybody’s doing things online. You could do that too. I’m like, no, people want to go see their tax person.

They want to go talk to their CPA. There’s none of this online stuff. That’s going to work. He’s like, you need to try it before you say no. And I’m like, no, it won’t work. So eventually I kind of like kept running into walls and I said, all right, I’m going to try it. So I got somebody to make me a good website. And started blogging, I started networking online, and I started, you know, just kind of reaching out because I realized very quickly that the island was kind of a closed space. Everybody had been there forever. Everybody knew everybody else. And the Chamber of Commerce, bless his heart. He was like, Yeah, you know, we could probably use another accountant, but this space is pretty full. I was like, okay, okay, I’m gonna, thanks. I think I’m gonna do this from my spare bedroom, you know, just like make it work. So that, that’s what happened. 

Jamie Gruol: Wow. That’s so exciting. So you really followed your passion, right? Like you followed your draw to where you wanted to live. Now, when you say that you were networking online and going about finding people online, like can you give us a little bit more about what that looked like? How did You put yourself out there?

’cause I know. Jessica and I talk about this all the time. Like we obviously help people with systems and automation, but there are people that are implementing that because they want to scale. So how did you connect with people? How did you, you know, you were building your blog, but were you like building relationships with people on Facebook, on LinkedIn?

Like, how did you do that?

Diana Halenz: Facebook. I met some people on Facebook. I was like, I’ve got this great professional network at home in Pennsylvania, so I’m going to start networking there. I met my mentor in LinkedIn. 

Jamie Gruol: You got to start somewhere.

Diana Halenz: people were like just so helpful and so willing to share knowledge. Um, 

And so I did that and then I found out that I really like, how was I going to get leads, right?

I did get some cold people from my blog, um, but I decided I would start to meet consultants who are working in the field that I wanted to be in, which I wanted to work. I knew professional services. I wanted to work with attorneys and law firms and yeah, and so I started actively looking for consultants who worked with law firms and that worked.

I made two really great connections. I still have clients from 2013, 2014 where I met these people and they referred them to me. Um, and you know, 

Jamie Gruol: That’s amazing. I think connections and referral partnerships are so powerful. And it all comes back to the relationship you can build with those people. Right. And so were those people originally in your network back in Pennsylvania, or were they kind of just random people you had encountered on the internet streets?

Diana Halenz: right. So, you know, I, I said, Well, I need to get familiar with Cleo because Cleo is what law practices use. This is all gonna be like online technology. They’re never gonna meet me. Um, and who knows a lot about Cleo? So I started doing Google searches on, you know, who knows about Cleo, who are, who’s consulting in the space.

And then I cold call reached out to them. And started talking to them and, you know, obviously some of it went nowhere. Some people were just like super, super nice and receptive and sent me clients. 

Jamie Gruol: That’s so wonderful. And how People are going to ask this. So I’m going to ask for you. Um, how were people like, is there a reciprocal agreement that you have with people when you are building those consulting relationships? Or was it just, you found people that were kind of like minded and helping the same industry and you just became helpful to them?

Like, how did you, there’s a lot of people like, I know I do even like, I sometimes like stove up when it comes time to Reach out to somebody who I don’t know, who I want something from, but I also want to give something back. I’m big on the reciprocality of that. Right. How did you navigate that? 

Diana Halenz: the hardest thing. Cause I really didn’t have anything to give back. Um, and so I just asked and that, I mean, that was just really hard, but I asked, um, one of 

the people you might know that I met on Facebook was Nicole Davis. And 

Jamie Gruol: Okay. Yep. 

Diana Halenz: and I called her one day and I was like, Hey, what are You doing?

She goes, I’m doing cold calls. I’m like, no, you’re not. She goes, I am. Cause we were in the same place just starting a practice. And I’m like, you are the bomb. If you can do it, I can too.

Jamie Gruol: You have to be scrappy in the early days, right? Like you’ve got to be scrappy and make a few connections and it takes just one person to say, I like what you’re doing. I like your energy. Like I can feel that we can, I can trust you. Right. And then it just all snowballs from 

Diana Halenz: I actually, I had a consultant give me a personality test. I mean, I was desperate. So I did her personality test and she’s like, Okay, and she sent me a really nice client. So, 

Jamie Gruol: That’s awesome. Well, just, I would love to hear from you. And Jessica had a little bit of an internet snafu there. So she’s back with us now. Um, but just when you were starting, did you have a similar way of getting clients? Like how did you go about getting clients as well? Was it just kind of cold calling?

Was it like cold outreach? Was it connections? Like how did you navigate those waters? 

Jessica Smith: will never get me to cold call anyone. Oh my gosh. 

Jamie Gruol : The introvert is screaming. No, no. 

Jessica Smith: well, okay. And what’s funny, cause I don’t consider myself introverted like at all, but there’s something, there’s something about connecting with like essentially a stranger being like, Hey, like, how are you doing? It just, it feels weird. Um, and I understand for some.

For some business types, like that works for them. Um, you know, my husband’s business that he works for, like cold calling is a really big part of the business, but they also have like 30 salespeople. And of the a hundred calls that those people will make a day, right? Like 10 percent turn into like the next phase.

Right. So I, I think I don’t have that kind of manpower. Um, There’s a lot of different ways that different companies will try to sell you leads. Myself personally, um, growing my own professional network was kind of where it was at. Um, I was lucky to at least be connected, um, in the San Diego area where there’s just a lot of networking groups.

So I was able to just honestly, anytime someone posted about an event and like, Hey, we are looking for a tech specialist who wants to speak. It was me. So I, I started public speaking and I even did this at my old firm. So I, I don’t think I even realized how long I’ve been doing this, but I’ve been public speaking in some capacity since like 2015 and I was doing that for the firm that I worked at.

But also then when I went, um, Kind of like on my own because how else do you get in just front in front of these different people and make different connections and then also have what I felt like people looked as like social proof as someone who actually understands what they’re doing. Cause as an enrolled agent, I will say the CPA is a better marketing tool and it was a little bit more difficult to, Explain to people my expertise and what my focus was on as an enrolled agent.

Cause they just could not translate how an enrolled agent was similar to, but also different than a CPA and how I was qualified to help them. So doing that was through public speaking, getting in front of a group of people and being able to take the topics that they wanted to know about and really just come in and be like, Hey, I know about this topic.

Like take the really technical, Junk that like I love to learn and translate into something that the public could easily understand. So that was a really big thing for me. Um, so yeah, any, any event virtual or in person, I, I was there as a tech, the tech professional, and of course, you know, would promote those events.

Um, also given the skill that I have, where I do representation, it’s, Something that a lot of people don’t like doing like at all. And so it actually allowed me a lot of different ways to get in with other firms that didn’t offer those services to be able to be like that referral handoff, because they understood I wasn’t going to steal the client for the services that they offer, that I was able to come in and work with that other accounting professional and resolve the client issue without them having to like send this person out into the abyss and hope that, um, They, they come back after the issue was resolved.

So that was a big thing for me. Like I just connected with a lot of other professionals. Um, I tried to go to every networking event that I was able to go to. Um, I would do a lot of research for my old firm to like go to these different associations. Like we went to the payroll association of San Diego.

We went to like the tax professional associations. We just, I, I swear to you, I would spend sometimes a couple of hours every single week. Just where can I show up in the next 30 days? So people can see who I am and get some visibility. Cause if you’re going to Google Jessica Smith. especially Jessica Smith and world agent, there’s like, there’s a dozen of us, right?

Like I want people to really learn about who I was. And that’s also another reason why, when I started really marketing myself, I market myself as tax savvy, Jessica, because that gave me the chance to separate myself from all the other tax people who were also named Jessica, but who Jessica Smith’s and start to like build my own brand in that regard.

So yeah, that’s, that’s how I did it. Networking is really powerful. If you understand the different ways to get in front of people, cause as, as professional service providers, that’s how we somewhat show our value as experts in, in the field of study that we’re 

Jamie Gruol: Yeah. Well, and I love that you Diana went in on the, you know, you knew you wanted to work with attorneys. You knew you wanted to be in.

that. You one got the skills in Clio, which is the tool that They use. So you were aware of how they’re working, right? You knew the terminology they were using and the way that you were going to support them. How did you, once you made those first couple of referrals, did you start getting more referrals from your clients then and kind of expanding your network into the attorney? Um, niche that way as well.

Diana Halenz: after that, They would refer each other. Um, but then, People started calling. I don’t know if it was from my network or whatever. So I out working only with attorneys. That’s kind of broadened out. Um, I was I think I can do more than one type of business. So, so it did start to broaden out and then. People would refer each other, but then also they seem to sprout companies. And so, you know, you know how it is. So a business owner or an entrepreneur will just like, you know, they all have two or three companies now.

Jessica Smith: They just attract, attract a bunch of people that do the same thing that they do. Yeah,

Diana Halenz: works, but they all, they all do. And then the other, other big source of referrals has been financial advisors. So, 

So, um, you know, you get one or two financial advisors and they’re all looking for tax people, which is 

like great because, you know, then they, they have a little bit more of the complicated tax situation that I like to deal with. So. 

Jamie Gruol: Yeah. I love that. Wait, so you have really specialized and grown your practice virtually, like it started with you and your little bedroom. Can you share with us, like what that looked like for you? So you brought on several clients. Did you finally get to the point where you’re like. How did you like bring on your first team member and now you’re working with team members in other parts of the country? 

Diana Halenz: so the secret sauce was my dad and my mom came to me one day, a couple of years after I was like frantically busy, but I really didn’t want to hire anybody and they said, you know, your sister’s looking for a job and I was like, what, she’s a CPA in Seattle. And I’m like, Oh my gosh, why did I never think about this? And so now she works for me. And 

yeah, started working for me in 2017, I think, and it works for her because she’s got kids at home, you know, she’s completely reliable. And so that, that’s how that. started. Um, I’ve also hired bookkeepers with varying levels of success and, I, I think back in 2019 or 2020, I said, you know what?

This is, this is what it is. I want a lifestyle firm. I don’t want to get really big and huge. I just want to be really good at what I do and have time to go diving and have time to go do some other things. And so I consciously decided that it was always just going to be like no more than three people.

And if I couldn’t handle the work, then I would find somebody who can handle the work. Yes. 

Jamie Gruol: your systems? Like how you have made because so Jessica has a small team and they’re located all across the country as well. But systems are the thing that allow people to have a virtual practice. So I would love to hear, like, when did you determine one that you needed systems?

Like what was that moment where you’re like, holy cow, I can’t do this just out of my bedroom anymore. And like my, my system that I have here sitting next me. Um, and how did you navigate that 

Diana Halenz: So, 

Jamie Gruol: what was 

Diana Halenz: so I use a lot of my network. Like, what are you doing to manage your practice? You know? And so it grew from my to do list on paper to, um, like an online to do list. I use all things at one point in time and then everybody was using a bunch of different stuff and I started using a sauna. Yeah. Which I really liked, but it still didn’t do some stuff. Um, 

and we then two, two and a half years ago went to tax stone and that actually like works for us. 

Jamie Gruol: Yes.

Jessica Smith: we love tax dome 

Diana Halenz: I know

Jamie Gruol: We do. We’re big fans. 

Diana Halenz: Yeah. So that’s where we ended up. So tax dome, um, we don’t have. Um, everything’s in the cloud, so our software is 

Jessica Smith: love that.

Diana Halenz: um, and, and we also, um, tell clients they need to use our preferred solutions, um, just to 

keep things consistent. So. You know, Taxdome, 

Jamie Gruol: Boundaries. We love those too. 

Diana Halenz: is the glue that holds everything together, but they have to use Gusto, they have to use bill. com, they have to use either QBO or Xero. Um, and so we, we do kind of like box them in that way. And I think I did a lot of work trying to figure out the best solution that worked for us and would work for clients too. Um, and I think, you know, nobody’s complained about it. So. Um, 

Jessica Smith: touch briefly on your comments about feeling like you had to box your clients into like your preferred solution. I, and I want you, I just want to think, want you to think about it this way and reframe it, you have built a practice that allows you to serve your clients at like the optimum efficiency, productivity.

Making them feel like they just are on the top of the world, right? If someone is outside of the box that you described, they become the wobbly wheel of the wheelbarrow and they get outside, they’re outside of everything that you’ve put together to make sure that from a consistency perspective, they know what to expect.

So instead, what we want our clients to think about is. Not that they’re being boxed or forced to use any one provider or the other, but these providers have already shown and proven to you that they work within the system and empower you to be able to serve your clients to the best manner possible. Um, because I feel like a lot of accountants in general feel like, Oh, what if I get pushed back from my clients because I’m forcing them to do this?

It’s, it’s not that we’re forcing them. To do something we as a as a professional is the one doing the work. We’ve already vetted these vendors. We already have a good process that we’ve established with these vendors. Maybe there’s even some preferential pricing. We’ve established with these vendors, but these are the vendors that we find work the best with the with the way that we’ve developed.

That we want to perform our work. And if it’s not a good fit for the client, then they, they’re not going to be a good fit for us because how are we going to keep the consistency if the client says, Oh, well, I want to use ADP for my payroll. That’s great. Go work with somebody who enjoys working with ADP.

We have potentially found that ADP is not a good fit for us and Gusto seems to empower us. To, to provide the best service. So it’s just not going to work if you’re not able to work with our provide preferred service providers. So just something to kind of like chew on, cause I do see a lot of people who feel reluctant to make these really critical changes and establish these boundaries with these clients because of what their clients are going to say or do.

And I’m like, No, like you have to do it. You’ve created what makes you do your work the best. They’re the ones who are looking for the best service and this is how you’re 

Diana Halenz: how you framed that up because that, that truly was my experience. It was like, okay, now we’re bringing this other tool that only they use. And then we’ve got to figure out how to use it and how to support them. And it’s just very inefficient. So, yeah. 

Jessica Smith: inefficient, super inefficient.

Jamie Gruol: mean, you have to learn all these tools to like, that’s a problem. They make changes and then you have to modify your process to those changes, or the industry needs a change. And then you have to modify all of the tools. It’s like when you have multiples happening, the other thing I think people don’t think about.

And cause it, and I just think of it this way as a business owner. Like when I go to my doctor’s office, they don’t ask me what electronic medical record they’re using. They have the record that they use. I may hate it. It may not be as efficient as the one that I go to the doctor on the other side of town, but it is what they use.

And no amount of complaining from me or begging for me is going to change the way that they’re running their business. And I think as business owners, we have to remember that we are empowered to make the decisions that work for us. And, and it’s okay if someone doesn’t want to work with you and your, your systems. So, yeah, well, I love that. And so when you were bringing on your team members, How did you navigate teaching them and like having them working in the virtual space where your sister, was she comfortable with it? And now your, your CFP that you have on staff, like. Do those, are those comfortable on boardings that you’ve gone through?

Like, do you have any tips or anything that you can share with people around that? 

Diana Halenz: the more, um, Yes, I do have tips. And the more, the more standardized your processes are and the more they’re documented, um, the better off you are. So, you know, I started using the wiki and tax dome so we would have stuff documented. Um, when I brought my sister on, she wasn’t entirely comfortable with technology.

So that was a little more challenging. We did a lot of screen sharing. I mean, it was one on one, right? So that wasn’t scalable, but it worked for me at the time. Um, and then my CFP candidate is just, you know, of that of a different generation where they’re super comfortable with technology and they can figure out things faster than I can train them.

So, so as long as I have, you know, the. Task well defined in tax dome and a due date and a start date and the information that they need to do it um You know that that’s what I found works Like I I 

feel like i’m not really getting at the answer to your question Just because my practice is different than somebody that’s trying to build a really big practice but 

Jamie Gruol: Yeah. Well, I think, you know, you, you called it out. It’s, it’s the documenting of the process, making sure that expectations are being set and using a tool like tax dome or any practice management tool that allows the assignment of work out virtually, um, allows you to get it out of your head and. onto a tool, a templated tool that allows you to repeat using that process again and again. And that is like so powerful. There, there are so many practices out there that are still file paper, like bring people in and they can’t imagine why, or they can’t understand why the younger generation. Are are departing so quickly. It’s because they don’t want to work on paper, right? They don’t want to be, you know, beholden to old inefficient processes.

And if people want to have staff come on that are of the millennial, Gen Z, Gen X world. No, Gen Z, not Gen X, Gen Z, uh, world, they have to have systems and technology in place to help people do their jobs efficiently because that is necessary in 2024 

Diana Halenz: and they’re, they’re so quick to see the inefficiencies. I mean, they’re just so quick to see it And call it out. So, 

Jamie Gruol: say, you are correct. Let’s fix this. And you just say, sorry, this is how we do it. They’re going to say, thank you, but I need to go. 

Diana Halenz: yes. 

Jamie Gruol: And you don’t want that 

finding good teams, team members is hard these days. And we want everyone to have efficient. And also, even though I mean, I guess I’ll ask you this question, Diana.

I won’t make a statement. I’ll let you make the statement. When you transitioned, so you came out of your corporate career and you started building, you were using Asana and you were making those changes. The change was probably not easy. Right? Like, how did that go for you personally as you were learning the technology and making the change from the written checklist? Like we’re on it. And I would love an honest like response to this because I think people will see themselves in this because it’s what’s holding them back from making the change as well. 

Diana Halenz: So honestly, I look back at 2013 and 2014 and those were maybe two of the hardest years of my life because it was everything was so difficult. I was trying to build a practice. I was trying to figure out tools. I was trying to figure out processes. Um, but once I could get. All of this mental load out of my head and into something that made sense to me, it just made all the difference.

Like I didn’t have to carry everything anymore. Um, so, so, you know, it is, it’s hard, you know, like implementing tax stone was really hard. Um, and it took six months because I tried to do it myself. Um, and, you know, Still now, it’s all there and it’s all done and the processes work. And so it’s, you know, it’s just getting through that and knowing that there’s a light on the end of the tunnel, um, to get through it. 

Jamie Gruol: I, I love that. And on the other side, how did it feel? 

Diana Halenz: Oh, it’s great. Like I have the coolest thing, you know, and I have the coolest life and I love my clients and they appreciate what I do. And I know that, you know. Things are going to get done, and I’m going to do a really good job for them, so it feels amazing. 

Jamie Gruol: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Jess, do you have any other questions for our friend Diana?

Jessica Smith: I am just so excited to hear about someone who was like, I’m constrained to this Island, how do I find clients? And like, it’s just, it’s just really cool. Because I think, I think that a lot of people. Who are like wanting to join 

this industry. And I was just speaking about this with Jamie briefly before we got on the call with you.

Um, a lot of people still in this industry feel that they’re constrained by like the physical location of where they are and how, Oh, well I can only provide. You know, services to people that are, you know, in my small town or on my small Island. And you’ve kind of like shown that that barrier is really not a barrier at all.

I mean, the, there. There’s a reason why we have an accounting shortage because we have more people to serve than we have accountants. That does not mean that your little island is like the exception to the rule and like suddenly, Oh, the accounting shortage is not, it does not exist. Like it still does. It just maybe in your area specifically, as you kind of discovered.

Hey, I’m just going to reach outside of this, you know, this island that I’m on and I’m, I’m going to make this work. And I think that’s hugely powerful because there are a lot of people who are scared at the possibility of Embracing the technology, moving forward with, with the idea of working with people outside of what maybe they think their zone of geniuses or state zone of genius, whatever they want to call it.

And there, there’s just, there’s so, there’s so much opportunity out there. If we’re looking outside of like justice, like physical proximity that we live in. I, I really like that. And I love that you’re, um, that you’ve been doing this for as long as you have to, because, you know, back in. 2013, as you were mentioning, like your boyfriend’s like, Oh yeah, everyone’s online.

And it feels like so long ago, but it’s really true that even, you know, even though back at that time, the, there was the recognition that, Hey, I don’t have to only work with people that are within a 10 mile radius. We’re going to drive to come see me. I can serve people virtually and serve them well. I think that’s exciting.

Jamie Gruol: Yeah, I love that. I love that. Well, we have one last question for you, Diana, and that would be, what is the one piece of advice you wish you had received when you started your journey towards building your practice? 

Diana Halenz: So, I think, um, I wish I would have, like, started doing what I was doing before I was ready to start. So we always, we always, I always think, Oh, I need to do one more thing. I need to get one more certification. I need to do one more thing before I’m actually competent to serve people. 

No. I already know what I need to know, and I’ll learn what I don’t know. Um, but I 

Jamie Gruol: Mm hmm. 

Diana Halenz: like, probably six or eight months. Like, all I need to do, I need to have a website before I can reach out to people. Or I need to do this, and I need to do that. No, just start doing it. So. 

Jamie Gruol: Yep. Yep. All of that will be created as you go. You’re so right. And any, any gaps that you have this, uh, the thing that I love most, and I, I have an accounting degree. I am not like, I never have been a full like prep public accountant practicing public accountant, but I think looking as an outsider into this industry of tax and accounting, and especially in the public space and the smaller practices, it is such a, supportive community where people are willing to share their knowledge with one another to allow everyone to grow together.

So even if you come across something that is outside your wheelhouse and you’re like, I’m not really sure, there’s so many people willing to give their perspective and their interpretation of the law. And you don’t have to be afraid of serving somebody that’s of a higher caliber than what you think you’re able to serve.

Right. And that’s how we become higher caliber. providers like service providers is we stretch ourselves and we try new things and we test our, our knowledge with more advanced clients and more advanced opportunities. But that’s also how we start increasing our value to all of our clients. And so don’t be afraid to, to start early.

I love that recommendation. 

Diana Halenz: Yep. 

Jamie Gruol: This is so good. Well, Diana, I am so grateful for you being here today. I would love for you to share how people can connect with you if they would like to do so. There may be others out there that Want to, you know, lean into your mentorship possibly, or just friendship and where can they connect with you? 

Diana Halenz: love mentoring people. I love people to reach out. Um, the best place is on Twitter. It’s D I H A L E N Z.

I know. It’s like, I’ve wiped out social media, but I am on Twitter. 

Jamie Gruol: Good for you. Yes. I will make sure that we have that in the show notes below. So if you want to reach out to Diana, catch her on Twitter. Tax Twitter is a popping community out there. So if you’re not part of it, Jessica is newly in the community and loving it. So we are so grateful to Diana for being here today and we can’t wait to bring you the next diary of a tax practice owner. And until then have a wonderful day and we’ll see you next time. 

Diana Halenz: thank you.​