Partner Pages 2019: Mr Prezident

Growing up on the Gold Coast, Chaz Prezident, Director of Whitehouse Private Wealth, always knew what he wanted to do. Now aged 30, he’s achieved this goal and then some, founding his own equity crowdfunding platform, volunteering as president of the Gold Coast Junior Chamber of Commerce, and earning a Queensland nomination for the 2019 Young Australian of the Year Awards. Chaz talked to us about starting his own practice and what he learned along the way.

I had been Associate Partner at a large boutique accounting firm for three years when the subject of my buy-in came up. They have a good firm, are great operators, and I highly respect them, but I was still unsure. After a few months of negotiations, it got to a point where I was struggling to justify the value of goodwill in an accounting practice, and it became clear we weren’t going to come to an agreement.

We started exploring other options, and I began thinking, “Here I am giving my clients forward-facing advice on how to build and grow their own businesses, having never done it myself. So, what if I did?”

I had an agreement where I could retain any clients who were prepared to go with me, and in the end, all bar one followed me across. I didn’t know if I was going to have an office or any staff so it required a bit of a big leap of faith on their part, but I was committed to delivering the level of service I always had. At first, I sublet an office from another client of ours. Within three months, I’d hired my first full-time team member, and a month later we moved into our new office.

What’s in a name? I felt that if I named a practice after me, firstly no one would take it seriously because I have such a silly name, but also from a team member’s point of view, it’s harder to connect to the brand when it’s someone else’s name on the door. I wanted to create something our team could rally behind and take ownership of, while also reassuring my clients that they were following me, Chaz Prezident. So, the thinking behind the name Whitehouse was, “Where can you find the president?” Answer: In the White House.

How to rate an accountant

Very early on in my career, my manager said, “Never stop learning, because even if you don’t like your job, you’ll be a better person tomorrow.” That’s something that’s always been really prevalent in my professional development – it doesn’t have to be technical and tax based learning, it could be behavioural management or digital strategies, but it’s about gaining knowledge to see the bigger picture.

The thing that really shaped where I am now was an American accountant’s response to the question “How do you rate an accountant?” The answer: “By the number of client weddings they go to.” I think people underestimate the support and help that accountants give their clients – it really is an intimate, professional, problem-solving relationship. You know so much about them that you do start to become almost like family.

The need for speed

From a commercial perspective, working with Xero just makes sense for us. It’s cloud-based, so I can work anywhere in the world and still provide a very seamless service to my clients. It’s also easy to use, it’s efficient, and it enables us to give our clients more information than ever before. Where previously, we’d have to export data into spreadsheets, manipulate it, and do all these crazy, wonderful things, we now have a lot more flexibility and can extract the important

information we need much quicker. As accountants, we have to be able to give clients the information they need to make decisions. That’s why having access to cloud-based software and data in real time is so important – you need to be able to talk about things like cash flow or profitability or margins, and you have to respond faster than ever to remain competitive as a business.

The forecast is for change

It’s really bizarre when you go through the journey of starting an accounting practice, because you can’t forecast what’s ahead. I’m a strong believer in the philosophy of exploring all opportunities and we have learned so much already.

Agility is particularly important for us because it allows us to embrace anything that we deem valuable and that our clients will see value in. The professional services industry is changing quickly and I don’t think we’ve seen

the end of it – in fact, I think this is just the beginning – so we’ve been really focusing on providing a high level of service, adding value to our clients beyond tax returns, and building a strong community around us.

I’m interested to see what this does for my business, as I continue through the process. Eventually, I’m hoping to learn more about diversifying and expanding the different services I offer. But for right now I’m going to attempt some ads and videos on Facebook to put my brand out there. It can be hard to talk to the camera – you’re looking at a small black hole, with no feedback, it’s not human, it’s very unnatural. But I’m getting better: now it only takes 20 takes to get a 2-minute video out! It will be awesome when it only takes five takes.

Tips for starting your own practice

1. Be agile and forward-facing
2. Believe in yourself – the biggest roadblock in any environment is self-doubt.
3. Be in the community. How can you ask the community to support your business, when you don’t participate and support others
4. Remove the emotion from the decision.
5. Be humble – appreciate the support you receive, and understand how important your professional relationships are.

Chaz’s story is taken from the new issue of Partner Pages – a magazine of beautifully curated content, written by partners, for partners. Get your free copy at the Roadshow Australia 2019.

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Source: Xero Blog