In my very first podcast, I had the honor to have a conversation with the owner of one of the leading US Expat Tax accounting firms in Israel. I have known him personally for about 7 to 8 years. He himself is an accountant who also handles the accounting matters of my business entity.
From his humble beginnings to managing his very successful business, this podcast introduces you to his journey to being an accountant. Through this post, we will get to know the man and the wisdom of the head of Expat Tax CPAs, Pesach Woznica.
What inspired you to become an accountant?
I was not inspired to become an accountant. I wanted to become a rockstar musician, but I knew that I needed to make a living, so when I was in college, I took different courses. I liked accounting, which I consider the best among the courses I took. That’s when I started warming up to it.
It was in the early stages of my college life that I took a liking to accounting courses, and I was also good at them. And here I am 18 years later - running a big accounting firm.
Where did you study and how long did it take you to get an accounting degree?
I studied at York University in Toronto, Canada. It was a 4-year honors degree. After that, you need to take a test to be a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
What happened after you finished your accounting degree?
After I got my degree and license, I worked for my father who is also an accountant. Not long thereafter, as I was doing tutorials, bookkeeping, and basic financial statements, I was encouraged to advertise my services which is the preparation of tax returns.
Tell me about your first project.
My first project was all about tax returns. I was working from home and literally doing everything by myself. I made my business known by putting on some advertising - paper advertising, that is.
I started in Israel, doing business (making tax returns) in between lunch breaks. Then I also started working at night and saw that my business is really taking off. I switched my schedule to work from 3:00 p.m. until midnight, and that was not a healthy schedule.
I had a full-time job at that time, and I know I had to hold on to it because I didn’t know if my business would bring in enough cash to help me pay the bills.
For you, what is the best way to learn about your business?
There’s no better learning than actually learning on the job.
Most people are scared to just
jump and start providing service, even when they are trained to do it. Usually, they get an apprenticeship for a while to gain confidence after some time. But I am a risk taker, and I just jumped in and that’s how I learned.
The best way to learn is learning on the job. You learn the fastest, the quickest if you propel yourself and jump right into it. But you have to know what your limitations are. For me, I would not accept a client who needs a service that I don’t know or am not qualified to do.
What is your current business?
As a service-based industry, we provide tax services to US and Israeli citizens, and some accounting services to US citizens living both in Israel and all over the world. The Israeli tax services that we provide in US and Israeli division is on 99% of people living in Israel.
What are your thoughts about delegating tasks?
When you start a business, you usually start as a one-man show. As the business progresses, it becomes extremely difficult to balance and manage your time. That is why it is helpful to delegate some tasks in your business.
There are a lot of tasks that need to be done but not necessarily you should be doing them. Delegate some tasks so you can free up your time and use it to speak to more potential clients and develop your business more.
What is your advice on balancing life and work?
You can be very work-driven and passionate about your work, but your whole life should not be all about work. Personally, It is very healthy to have hobbies. Physical exercise is very important to me as well. From time to time, I go b
iking and I also play tennis. It’s good to dedicate a part of your time to these activities.
You need to be enjoying what you are doing. You could be making great living doing something, but when you love your job, you are able to get things done without feeling like it is a burden to you.
Was there an instance when you made a decision that you regretted?
I don’t regret any of the decisions that I have made, but there have been certain decisions that I’ve made which, in retrospect, were not the best for my business, such as taking a client with red flags, or not doing due diligence on a big potential client.
Have you ever been in a situation where you dealt with a difficult client, and how did you go about it?
Yes, I have experiences with difficult clients who somehow get their way to manipulate and abuse me with unreasonable demands. As a business owner, I need to protect my name which is why I got a consultant to assist me on how to deal with these clients.
My consultant taught me two options for this kind of problem: one is to let go of the client, and the other is to ask for a higher fee for the service we are offering.
I need to politely let go of the client who is somehow giving me a difficult time by letting him know that our accounting firm is not the right match for him and that we have no choice but to discontinue our service to him.
Another option is to raise the fee for my service, considering the time and demand necessary to work on his file. I may ask for a change in the way I will charge for the services. If they agree, then I have to make a business decision about whether it is still worth it to continue working for this client.
We often say your clients are your boss. What can you say about it?
It is actually a balance. When you are in a business, your clients are your boss and you have to worry about your boss firing you. If you do a bad job, if you are not nice to them, if you are not professional – they could fire you.
The unique thing about the service-based industry is people connecting with people. Even with the people behind you to make sure everything is running smoothly and efficiently if you are selling a service, you are essentially selling yourself as the face of the company.
How do you sell yourself to clients?
The best clients that come to us are those who knew us by word of mouth. They see great professional service and a great team. These clients want to trust me and want to make sure that I know what I am doing and understand what needs to be done. Not only that, they see that our implementing systems, checks, and procedures are in place.
In short, they see me as a business owner who knows and understands tax returns, and the systems I have developed have made them rely on me. These things are a reflection of who I am and my personality. And that is, for me, one of the best-selling points in a service business.
How do you see challenges in your business?
The business model that we have is one that comes with its challenges. I view challenges in a positive way. If you approach a challenge and you overcome it, you are one step higher. Challenges are not a problem.
There are always solutions, you just have to come up with them. If you look at challenges as something negative, then they will all be negative. Look at them as opportunities – overcome them, flex and not break your muscles in a healthy way.
How do you define branding?
Branding for me is when you introduce yourself and sell your service to a client. It is easy to do that when you are in the same room and speaking to the client. The same message, idea, and feeling regarding you and your business should also be conveyed even when you are not in the same place. That is what branding is.
How to charge more for your services is a very big thing in the service-based industry. How do you charge more for the same service?
The things to consider are inflation, keeping up with the market, and awareness of what your competitors are charging. If I am able to accomplish or provide the same or even a better service that will cost me less, then I am working in a more efficient way. This way, I am not charging more, but I am making more. The key focuses are: improving my processes, improving my systems, and automating as much as I can.
What advice can you give to people who want to be in the service industry?
When you have a business – whether you are selling goods or services - whatever type of service you are selling, you need to go to the basics, which is – you need to be making a profit.
In the service industry, people are paying for manpower in the services, and if the amount that you are making per hour is not so high, then it is going to be difficult to make ends meet. Whereas if your billable hours are high, then you could do just fine and you could make a good living.