You Don’t Have To Be Big To Be Beautiful
“Small is not just a stepping-stone. Small is a great destination itself.” —Jason Fried
Calmwaters Got Top 50 Nod From Future Firm
Ryan Lazanis is the brains behind Future Firm Accelerate. He and I have been friends for quite a long time now, and I’m a fan.
I am a member of his community - if you want to create freedom in your firm, you should join
We have seen each other live at accounting events over the years - it’s so worth the money and time to attend live events, there is nothing better for finding your peer group
We were both early adopters of cloud accounting and running a virtual firm (especially in the Canadian accounting community)
Ryan and his team put together The 2025 Modern Firm Report, and Calmwaters Cloud Accounting was named in it - go us!
We are a small firm. It’s me and two part-timers. But I love what we do.
I love the technology we use
Our clients and my team members are happy
I don’t work much (I misstated in the report as I added in hours for work other than my firm hours)
We are profitable with solid cash-to-owner and margins
I enjoy the freedom and lovely lifestyle my firm provides
You don’t have to be big to be beautiful.
You can run a really cool firm on your terms, and what those terms are is up to you. You don’t need to heed the call to grow and scale and all… the… big…things.
I’m not dissing climbing all the highest peaks, but if it’s not for you don’t knock yourself out about it.
Here is Ryan’s verbiage around his report, which I agree with wholeheartedly. So I felt no impetus to rewrite this article in my own words. He said it best.
I'm not a fan of most "Top 100" lists in our profession.
They’re always filled with the biggest firms.
The ones with the most revenue.
The ones that look impressive on paper but that I wouldn’t want to run in a million years.
That’s not the kind of firm I look up to.
Know what firms inspire me?
The ones pushing boundaries.
The ones using technology in innovative ways.
The ones building loyal social media audiences or launching bold new service lines.
They’re the ones focused on their team’s wellbeing and creating better client experiences rather than just chasing the biggest numbers.
And most of all, these are the firms run by owners who have great balance in their lives...
So a few months ago, my team and I decided to do something about it.
We spent hundreds of hours researching, surveying, and compiling data from some of the coolest firms around the world to launch...
These aren’t necessarily the biggest firms…
(In fact, some of these firms are solo firms).
But they're definitely doing things different!
Here are 3 key findings from that report.
Finding #1: They charge way more than everyone else
According to Ignition’s 2024 national benchmark study, almost 70% of firms charge less than $750 per month for recurring services.
But when we looked at our Top 50 Modern Firms from our report?
Only 18% were charging less than $750.
In fact:
42% were charging between $1,000-$2,000 per month.
Another 33% were charging MORE than $2,000 per month.
That means 82% of these innovative firms are charging above the national average.
And the most common response when we asked how they drove their prices up?
3-tiered pricing.
(I’ve been preaching this for years, but seeing the data makes it even more clear.)
Finding #2: They work way less than typical firm owners
I found this pretty interesting...
Only 4% of the Top 50 Modern Firms in our 2025 Modern Firm Report were working more than 50 hours per week.
And 60% were working less than 40 hours per week.
Compare that to the average firm owner where 90% work more than 40 hours per week and 55% work more than 50 hours.
It’s basically the complete opposite.
These top firms are taking multiple vacations per year.
Spending quality time with their families.
Actually enjoying their lives.
I personally see working less as a direct correlation with higher pricing.
(Ie. Finding 1 and Finding 2 are interrelated)
When you charge more, you need fewer clients to hit your revenue goals.
Finding #3: They protect their boundaries like their lives depend on it
When we asked the Top 50 what their best strategic decision was and what they learned the hard way, the #1 theme was crystal clear:
Protecting boundaries and delegation.
And yes, this was true amongst even the solo firms as well.
These firms know how to protect their time.
These firms don’t let a $500/month client ask unlimited questions all year long.
They package their services in a way that protects their capacity from the start.
And for the firms building teams, they’ve mastered delegation.
(Something I sucked at for way too long, but that’s another story…)
The bottom line?
If you’re working 50+ hour weeks, scrambling to keep up, and feeling like you’re on a hamster wheel…
You’re not alone.
But you also don’t have to stay there.
You can grab our 2025 Modern Firm Report to see exactly how the most successful, innovative firms in our industry have figured out a better way.
They’ve cracked the code on pricing, boundaries, and building a practice that serves their life instead of consuming it.
Something to think about…
Join Your Peers Here
ChatGPT 201: How (and When) to Use Projects, GPTs, Assistants & Agents with Isaac Perdomo of Opzer
Thursday, August 14, 2025
