Looking back, it’s possible that Reza Hooda could not have picked a worse time to make his transition from a “cozy” job at PwC to running his own firm.
Unbeknownst to him (and the rest of the world), the 2008 financial crisis was lying in wait. Hooda was forced to take a 70% pay cut in his earnings. Along the way, he made “every mistake under the sun,” he said, in his first few years running the firm.
“They don’t teach you how to run an accountancy business when you’re learning accounting in college,” Hooda said.
Hooda, author, business coach and founder of the Profitable Accountants Community, learned how to run a firm the hard way. Relying on the protocols he saw at PwC was only attracting poor quality clients and employees.
Overworked, stressed out, and not making the profit he wanted, Hooda thought he might have to close up shop. That was until he started working with a business coach in 2014. Slowly but surely, Hooda corrected course and built a thriving firm that didn’t overwhelm him with work.
The number one source of that change? Hooda focused on positioning himself as an expert.
Hooda shared his story and the key adjustments he made on the way to building multiple successful accounting firms during his presentation at GrowCon 2025 on May 6 in Provo, Utah. GrowCon is an annual conference held by Universal Accounting Center to empower owners of bookkeeping, tax preparation and advisory businesses to work on their firm while learning from leading minds in the industry.
Curious about hearing more insights for growing an accounting business? Be sure to sign up for GrowCon 2026, to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, today.
A Global Shift
Hooda’s luck couldn’t have been worse when he started his frim ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. However, his fortunes changed when his firm happened to catch the wind of a “massive societal shift” when the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hooda decided to spend on some marketing campaigns on Facebook with the goal of generating Zoom appointments since so many people were in lockdown at home. The advertisements were a massive success.
His initial client base of local businesses spread like wildfire across the U.K.
“Now that we live in a world where you can quite literally talk to everybody on the Internet, it’s more important than ever to get clear on who you serve and laser focus your messaging on them,” Hooda said.
Laser Focusing Your Messaging
For years, Hooda had relied on referrals to build most of his client base. As Hooda began to work with a more widespread client base, he decided that his firm needed to identify a niche for its services in order to work with higher value clients.
“When you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one,” Hooda said.
He dedicated himself to studying the ins and outs of property and real estate acquisitions, and went on to write a book about the financial aspects of acquiring properties.
It wasn’t “groundbreaking stuff by any means,” Hooda said, but it allowed him to lead with value in his interactions with prospective clients and differentiated himself from other accountants. When he self-published the book and started selling it on Amazon, his firm started landing huge contracts.
Niching starts with positioning, and positioning starts with education, Hooda told the audience. To have any success expanding into a niche, first you need to study.
Don’t Devalue Your Services By Calling Them “Bookkeeping”
Hooda recommended moving away from calling what you do for clients “bookkeeping” in order to attract higher value clients.
Instead, he suggested positioning your firm as a virtual finance office. Bookkeeping is only a part of what you do, so why make that the only thing your clients should expect from you?
There are really only two pricing models, he said. You can either try to offer the cheapest services possible and thus serve as many clients as possible, or offer more of a depth to your services and charge more for them to fewer clients.
He cautioned against the first model because, “People who come to you on price will also leave you on price.” If business owners find someone who does bookkeeping for cheaper, they’ll leave.
The Prestige Phenomena and Value Based Pricing
Pricing based on value not only makes more sense for your firm, but it also makes more sense for your clients, Hooda said.
Hooda noted that price is something that comes from value, not cost. There is no real correlation between the costs of your operation and what the client is prepared to pay. Accounting professionals don’t sell time, they sell expertise.
There is another critical element that makes charging based on value a no-brainer for firms: the Prestige Phenomenon. Hooda explained that when something is expensive, people tend to associate the product with a higher quality standard. The reverse is also true.
Pricing based on value means you’ll attract clients who aren’t just trying to do the bare minimum when it comes to their finances. You’ll attract businesses who value your insight as an accounting professional.
The context of where and when something is sold also completely changes how the person feels about the product. Hooda said it’s like an iceberg. The client will only see what’s above the surface: the layout of your office, how your employees treat them during their initial meeting, etc. They’re willing to pay for what’s happening beneath the surface, but only if they like what they can see sticking out above the water.
Final Thoughts
Reza Hooda’s presentation underscores the value of niching your services, laser focusing your marketing messaging around that niche, and embracing a pricing model that demonstrates the value you’ll bring to your clients.
Thank you to Reza for sharing these incredible insights with all of those who were in attendance at GrowCon in May. You can read more highlights from the presentations here, or check out favorite presentations from previous GrowCons here.
Want to catch these presentations live instead of reading about them after the fact? Tickets to GrowCon 2026, to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, are available now. We hope to see you there!
