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Partnership Pros and Cons: Taking Time Off, Decision-Making, and Building the Right Firm Structure

In episode eight of the Own Your Firm podcast, Logan and AJ discuss running a firm solo versus with partners, starting with AJ’s two-week trip to Greece for the Feast of Tabernacles and how he prepared by front-loading work, notifying clients, assigning projects to team members and partners, and scheduling media in advance. AJ explains how having a team and two partners made the break possible compared to being solo, though returning meant catching up on emails and meetings. They touch on industry chatter about whether billable hours are going away, AI claims that accountants are “cooked,” and Logan’s upgraded microphone setup. The main conversation covers Maverick’s origin as a three-owner partnership, how they divide responsibilities, make decisions, and split profits, along with challenges like alignment, accountability, and slower decision-making. Logan shares solo pros and cons, including autonomy but having to handle sales, operations, and delivery alone.

00:00 Welcome And Catch Up
01:00 Prepping For Two Weeks Away
02:02 Greece Trip And Holy Days
03:01 Working Less While Traveling
05:39 Team Coverage While Away
06:49 Planning Your Own Sabbatical
07:52 Spicy LinkedIn And AI Talk
10:59 Desk Setup And New Mic
12:29 Solo Versus Partners Intro
14:18 How Maverick Partnership Formed
16:26 Partner Roles and Rhythm
16:55 Choosing Complementary Partners
17:32 Accountability and Workload Balance
20:23 Decision Making Tradeoffs
20:45 Office Upgrade and Focus
21:49 Home Distractions and Studio Dreams
24:26 Solo Practice Pros and Cons
27:11 Balancing Content and Firm Work
31:20 Profit Sharing and Entity Setup
34:33 Cost Sharing and Alternative Models
37:10 Wrap Up and Listener Q&A

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Solo vs Scalable: Hiring, AI Bookkeeping, and Building a Firm That Runs Without You

In episode six of the Own Your Firm podcast, hosts AJ and Logan Graff compare running an accounting firm as a solo operator versus building a scalable business with employees, partners, systems, and processes. They discuss recent AI bookkeeping developments, including Mercury launching Mercury Books and Accrual acquiring Puzzle’s ledger and close technology, and predict more banks and niche SaaS platforms will bundle bookkeeping/ledger tools, creating a messier tool landscape that forces accountants to level up. Logan shares how burnout in 2022–2023 pushed him to hire, noting AI and tools like SurePrep reduce data entry but still can’t replace humans for complex prep and client follow-ups. AJ explains Maverick’s growth mindset, low firm sale multiples (about 1.14x revenue), and why hiring, starting with contractors, can improve quality of life, enable sales/networking, and support passion projects like content and podcasts.

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
00:43 Mercury Books AI Ledger
02:26 Relay Banking and Invoicing
03:58 Puzzle Acquisition Debate
06:54 Banks and POS Ledgers Future
08:36 Niche SaaS Bookkeeping Wave
10:13 Solo vs Team Mindset Shift
11:28 Logan Burnout and Hiring Trigger
13:39 AI Prep vs Human Workflow
17:47 AJ Scaling Maverick and Energy
22:05 When to Hire Financially
25:33 Quality of Life and Passion Projects
30:48 Employees as Long Term Assets
32:37 Wrap Up and Listener Q&A

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Episode 6: Firm Acquisition News and How to Price One-Time Consult Calls

In episode six, the hosts note an upgrade to AJ’s microphone and discuss launching the podcast on YouTube, early download/view metrics, and a weekly release plan. They cover an industry update: Brandon Hall’s acquisition of Tooth and Coin, a dental-focused accounting firm where one host previously worked, describing it as a 2,000-client firm acquiring a roughly 400-client firm and discussing Tooth and Coin’s long-standing online presence and growth opportunities post-acquisition. The main topic is how to price one-time consultation calls, using a community question about a $250 one-hour consult that required prep time; the hosts argue for charging more or using a short discovery/scoping call that leads to a fixed-fee proposal or monthly engagement credit, emphasizing value-based pricing, factoring prep time and risk, avoiding underpricing one-off projects, using standard pricing, and “pricing the client, not the project.”

00:00 Episode Intro and Mic Upgrade
01:28 Gear Investments and Setup
02:25 Industry News Tooth and Coin Acquisition
04:13 Growth Strategy and Online Presence
07:24 Random Thing and Audience Metrics
10:18 YouTube Launch and Posting Schedule
11:21 Pricing One Time Consult Calls
16:48 Value Based Pricing and Upsells
21:59 Standard Pricing and Pricing the Client
27:15 Wrap Up and Counter Community Plug