Collaboration without competition: building better accounting firms with Richard Roppa-Roberts

Collaboration without competition: building better accounting firms with Richard Roppa-Roberts

Richard Roppa-Roberts did not plan to start a business. He bought a house on October 11, 2014, and was laid off the very next day. What followed was an accidental entrepreneurial career that now includes two businesses, over 7,600 hours of live peer conversation, and a near-coma hospitalization that tested every contingency plan he had built. In [http://built.In] this episode, Richard shares what he has learned running Quasar Cowboy and Roundtable Labs, including a simple calendar strategy for reclaiming time every month, how moving client communications entirely out of email changed the quality of his work, and why he believes collaboration without competition is the most underused growth lever in accounting. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch. [https://go.sayanchor.com/website-book-a-demo/?utm_channel=customer_marketing&utm_source=apple&utm_medium=soft_cta&utm_campaign=37683-unbalanced&utm_term=55]

Stop listening to what clients say they want with Ron Stauffer

Ron Stauffer walked in the door after his second layoff, gave himself one afternoon to feel bad about it, and had a check in his hand by the next day. That mindset, combining deep curiosity with relentless relationship-building, is at the core of how he has run Leader Digital for eighteen years without spending a single dollar on advertising. In this conversation, Ron shares why most businesses asking for more website traffic actually have a broken sales funnel, and how asking the question behind the question changes everything. He talks about the gap between what clients say they want and what they actually need, why networking is fundamentally storytelling, and what it looks like to build a referral-based business from scratch, twice. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch. [https://go.sayanchor.com/website-book-a-demo/?utm_channel=customer_marketing&utm_source=apple&utm_medium=soft_cta&utm_campaign=37683-unbalanced&utm_term=54]

Why your cash flow problem probably isn't what you think it is with David Safeer

In this episode, David joins Sam and Candy to talk about what really drives small business financial trouble, why the root cause is almost never what the owner suspects, and what it takes for accountants and bookkeepers to make the shift into genuine advisory work. They also get into the realities of building a first-year conference, why most accounting-adjacent advice stays frustratingly surface-level, and what it means to charge for work while you're still learning to do it. David is also hosting PIVOT, an intentionally small cash flow conference limited to 20 attendees, taking place May 24 through 29, 2026 at the Secrets Riviera Cancun in Mexico. Spots are still available. Mention The Unbalanced Podcast for a discount. Learn more at pivot2026.com [http://pivot2026.com]. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch. [https://go.sayanchor.com/website-book-a-demo/?utm_channel=customer_marketing&utm_source=apple&utm_medium=soft_cta&utm_campaign=37683-unbalanced&utm_term=53]

What bad bookkeeping actually costs your clients with Melissa Guinn

Melissa Guinn once found $180,000 of loan proceeds misclassified as income. Her client had paid taxes on money that was never earnings. A corrected return later, the client received $40,000 back. That kind of discovery is not luck. It is what happens when a bookkeeper asks enough questions, runs a real onboarding process, and knows what to look for. Melissa is the owner of Lookout Bookkeeping in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a virtual firm serving service-based businesses and real estate investors. In this conversation, she talks through the real cost of underpriced services, how she made the shift from hourly to monthly recurring revenue, why she attends tax webinars even though her firm does not do taxes, and what it actually takes to build systems that protect both clients and your own time. If you have ever undercharged, skipped an onboarding fee, or answered a client call during blocked work hours, this one is worth your time. Listen and follow the show so you never miss an episode. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch. [https://go.sayanchor.com/website-book-a-demo/?utm_channel=customer_marketing&utm_source=apple&utm_medium=soft_cta&utm_campaign=37683-unbalanced&utm_term=52]

What you don’t see coming as a firm owner with Erin Pohan

Erin Pohan, founder of Upkeeping and creator of WAVE Seattle, joins Sam and Candy for a conversation about the parts of firm ownership no one really prepares you for. From building real community in the accounting profession to navigating a $100,000 IRS notice and a years-long fight to protect her business, Erin shares what it looks like to keep going when the unexpected hits. Along the way, they talk about conferences, connection, and why finding your people matters more than anything when work and life get complicated. This episode is honest, funny at times, and grounded in the reality of what it takes to build something and keep it standing. Unbalanced is brought to you by Anchor. We help accounting and professional services firms send agreements, collect payments, and manage billing in one simple system. Join the thousands of accounting firms who have made the switch. [https://go.sayanchor.com/website-book-a-demo/?utm_channel=customer_marketing&utm_source=apple&utm_medium=soft_cta&utm_campaign=37683-unbalanced&utm_term=51]