We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Ranelli Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Ranelli, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the early days of establishing your own firm. What can you share?

My husband, Eric, and I started our accounting firm due to demand. Because we are both accountants, family and friends kept asking us to do their taxes. We did that on the side for a few years until my husband lost his job and with juggling life with a toddler, we decided to make the business official. So we began letting our small pool of clients know that we are expanding and taking on new clients and referrals began to come in.

We started our business out of our home, which was fine at first, but when we started getting clients whose preference was to drop off or sit with you while their taxes were being processed, rather than uploading their documents through a secure portal, we realized we needed to seek office space outside of our home. In 2016, we ventured into a small one-room office space and in 2021 upgraded into a larger space.

Some of the key challenges we faced was identifying the right marketing for us. At first, we depended mainly on referrals for growth and while that’s a great marketing tool, it’s a slow process. We have since established a presence on social media and are very intentional about nurturing our audience, which has proven very effective.

One of the other challenges we faced is having the infrastructure to handle the growth. Because we started as a “two-man show,” a lot of our processes were in our heads rather than documented (although I knew better because I was an external as well as internal auditor in past experiences). So, when we began to bring on staff, it was a difficult process because nothing was documented.

My advice for young professionals looking to start their own firm is to create a comprehensive 5-year plan to include how to scale effectively and efficiently. Map out the capital, team, and other resources required to accomplish your goals. You can only go so far on your own. An efficient team that bought into the vision is so vital to your growth. Then remember that your plan should not be a static document. Review and revise that plan periodically as you gain new knowledge and experience.

Dr. Ranelli, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up on a tiny island in the Caribbean called Montserrat. Prior to migrating to the United States at the age of 17 with my mom and my brother, I watched my dad start and grow a bakery, which planted the seed of entrepreneurship in me. When I started college a year later, I chose Business Management as my major, although I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. After taking my first accounting course, I knew that was the direction I wanted to take and so I completed my undergraduate in Accounting, followed by an MBA.

After working in Corporate America for a few years, in my search for a new job, I realized that the positions I was attracted to required a CPA license. That’s what propelled me to study for and take and pass the required exams to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In order to be licensed, not only did I have to pass that rigorous exam but I needed to also get two years of experience as an auditor. That’s what led me into public accounting, working for the number one accounting firm in the world, Deloitte.

With a few busy seasons under my belt in public accounting, I moved on to become an internal auditor for a large prescription benefit company. This was finally my dream career with a great company, great benefits, a great team, traveling the country performing audits but not too much travel that it was disruptive to my family. It truly was my dream job. However, the company was sold and the disruption began. I watched colleague after colleague get let go and eventually my turn came.

However, with a large severance in hand, that was my clue to jump into full-time entrepreneurship, joining my husband in our business, where we provide tax, accounting, and advisory services. We serve individuals and businesses with tax planning and preparation. Although taxes is where we started, that’s not the main arm of our business. In the main arm of our business, we help 6 and 7-figure service-based entrepreneurs to save thousands on taxes, increase cashflow and profits, and feel in control of their finances. We do this through our bookkeeping, payroll, and CFO services.

Our greatest joy is supporting our clients and seeing them accomplish their goals and build a business that is the primary contributor to the generational wealth they are looking to establish. This is another reason why we started The Love & Legacy Experience™ to support entrepreneurs and their spouses in building thriving businesses while maintaining thriving marriages and relationships. There’s no need to choose one over the other. We can have both.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What has helped me build my reputation in the marketplace is consistently showing up and sharing. I not only share regularly about our business and our clients’ wins but I share us. Our audience knows us.

– They know we are Christians.
– They know we are a family of 4.
– They have followed my journey to completing my doctoral degree.
– They know my kids’ accomplishments.
– They know when it’s my husband’s birthday and our anniversary.

They have truly gotten to know, like, and, trust us over the years.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I was introduced to Profit First a few years ago by one of our clients. She said, “you must read this book. I would love for you to implement it.” Once I read it, I was sold on the concept of flipping the accounting formula from revenue – expenses = profits to revenue – profits = expenses and truly prioritizing profits in the business rather than waiting for it to happen.

Since reading that book and becoming a Certified Profit First Professional, it has revolutionized our business. We are now sort after for being profit-first professionals. And because of the level of clients we now have who we are helping to implement this concept and the growth trajectory they are on, I am now working on becoming a Certified CFO (to be completed in March 2023) so we can better serve and support them in managing and growing their cashflow and profits.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erjservices.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/drranelliwilliams
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/moreprofits
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/drranelliwilliams
• Other: www.theloveandlegacyexperience.com