How we helped BlueRocket Accounting grow 40% in one year

Julie Angell: It scares the life out of you.

Miguel Calabrese: The balloons represent how many tax returns we need to do before the deadline.

Ray Angell: We hang them head height so they annoy the hell out of everybody. Once we’ve done the tax return we pop the balloon.

Miguel Calabrese: There usually is a little clap, a little round of applause because if it’s everybody patting each other on the back, it does put a smile on their face, which is good for morale.

Ray Angell: Each year we’re breaking our records.

Julie Angell: I’ve got a much bigger team.

Ray Angell: We grew 40% last year.

Julie Angell: The turnover’s gone up, the clients are just pouring through the door.

Ray Angell: And a massive part of this is the systems that Kirsten put in place.

Julie Angell: It’s just gone crazy. A good crazy.

Ray Angell: We had to turn things around at Blue Rocket.

Julie Angell: We just needed more structure within it, to be able to run as efficiently as we do now.

Ray Angell: Right from the beginning we agreed with Kirsten that she would come to us once a week, and would sit there and go through every system and process.

Julie Angell:  And as we did that it just all made more sense to do it the right way.

Miguel Calabrese: If you haven’t got systems in place whereas somebody else can come in the next day and do what you’re doing, then you haven’t got a system and then you do need to consider working with someone like Kirsten, if not Kirsten herself.

Julie Angell: We found it made a lot of difference to the way we run.

Ray Angell: We found new ways of doing stuff.

Miguel Calabrese:  We have a list of about 50 questions, each client manager would approach each job looking at those questions. The answers from those questions would then dictate what advice, or what opportunities we’ve spotted for that client. It could’ve been missed previously or we was just focusing on one area and not considering another.

Julie Angell: We just got it all set up, we know how to deal with the clients, we know how to get the new business in.

Ray Angell: The business is doing absolutely fantastic.

Julie Angell: It’s like it’s a whole new business. It’s like the one we had before we did the systems is gone, and this new business has emerged.

Ray Angell: I’ve got total faith in Kirsten and her systems.

Julie Angell: The systems keep us running in the right way, keep the team all doing the same thing, and that’s what you need to do to make it a successful business.