With all the challenges you face building your firm, isolation may be the toughest. In fact, the annual
Ironically it can get lonelier the bigger your firm gets. Early on, you're doing everything yourself, but you can usually talk openly with the people around you about what's happening. Once you get to a certain number of team members, clients and a leadership team relying on you, there are certain concerns you can't always bring to them the same way. Everyone comes to the firm leader looking for answers, but you need someone to turn to for advice on major decisions such as opening new offices, a potential merger, a new product line or a new market niche.
You need trusted peers who have been through it themselves. A strong group of entrepreneurial peers offers something even more valuable than advice: a safe place to have honest and confidential conversations among equals about what's working, what's not and what's actually keeping you up at night. Sometimes it can be very useful to look to peers outside the accounting profession.
I'm active in several entrepreneur groups and have found them extremely valuable for gaining perspective from other industries and markets that's often transferrable to my business. I first joined the Entrepreneurs' Organization to surround myself with like-minded owners, to gain access to world-class education and build peer-to-peer relationships with experienced entrepreneurs who could help me grow as a founder. I'm serving as president of EO's Long Island Chapter, which keeps me close to people in the local business community whom I keep running into outside of meetings. EO also gives me a hand in shaping the local chapter itself, not just attending it.
I'm also a Long Island Chapter member of the Young Presidents' Organization, which brings a broader, higher-scale perspective outside of my own industry. And I'm a member of Hampton, which skews toward candid, more tech high-growth founder conversations regardless of geography or industry. Hampton is a group where I can bring up something like a term sheet and get an honest, experienced gut check within minutes, no fluff. I don't think I'd get the same value from any group alone. It's the combination that works. None of these groups are industry-specific, but each pulls a different kind of peer into the room. Of course, if your state or local CPA chapter has well-run networking groups, make time for them as well.
Connections you'd never make otherwise
About 10 years ago when my company Bookkeeper360 was just starting out, I joined a local business development referral group and later met Terry Rubenfeld, who was a fractional CFO in the Long Island market. Terry soon joined us and has made a huge impact. He now leads our advisory services division and serves as our internal CFO. You never know who you will meet if you don't put yourself out there.
You don't have to be a natural schmoozer to fit in. If you're an introvert by nature, start small. A single forum of eight to 10 people is a very different experience than a 200-person mixer. I've found that the smaller gatherings are often where real value lives. Go in with one or two specific problems you want feedback on instead of asking for advice about your entire company and vision. This takes the pressure off making small talk and gives you a reason to speak up and share challenges you're having that other members can relate to. Give before you get. Introverts tend to be good listeners, and the person who asks a sharp follow-up question builds more trust than being the loudest one in the room.
Like most things in life, the more you practice, the better you get. Think of networking as a muscle; the more you stress it, the stronger it gets. That confidence can really help you with pitches, presentations and everyday interactions with your team.
It's not just meeting new people that builds networking muscle; it's being candid and vulnerable with people who can push back on you. Most of the leadership confidence I've gained didn't come from introducing myself at events; it came from sharing something I was unsure about with the group, and having other founders challenge it or validate it based on their own experiences.
When my business reached 10 employees, I needed tactical help. For example: How do you price a service? How do you collect an invoice? How do you find your next client? Almost any local business group can deliver that.
When I reached 100 employees, running a fully remote team nationwide, the questions became far more strategic: capital allocation, leadership structure and how to build a strong, connected culture without a shared physical office to lean on. These are the kinds of decisions you want to stress-test with founders running similarly sized, similarly distributed companies, not with a general small business meetup. The group should scale with the complexity of your challenges.
However, if the problems in the room stop matching yours because your firm has outgrown the average member's size or complexity, then it's time to move on.
Also, make sure the group encourages participants to be vulnerable without it becoming a pitch opportunity. Many groups have an explicit no-solicitation policy. You're there to get candid help with a real problem, not to hand out business cards. The moment a group turns into everyone waiting their turn to talk about their own business, it's dead. You can tell within one meeting which kind of room you're in.
Reasons to join a networking group
- It gets you out of your own head and your own office.
- Different industry perspectives.
- Real personal development, not just professional.
- You're pushed into becoming the expert in the room on your own business, which sharpens how you explain it.
- Genuine friendships with people who understand the pressure you're under.
- A wider circle you can call for a fast, specific answer.
- Access to knowledge and mistakes other founders already paid for.
- Visibility that compounds unexpectedly. I once landed clients from a taco party.
Drawbacks
- Time: Groups require a time commitment, and it takes a while to know if you've joined the right one.
- Cost: Some groups are expensive.
- Personality conflicts and quiet competition.
- Skill and stage mismatches: If other members are five years ahead or behind, then conversations stop being useful. Manage your expectations because groups shouldn't be lead-gen channels.
Online vs. in-person
Always choose in-person if possible. The depth of trust you build sitting at a table for a few hours a month doesn't translate to a video call. Online formats are great for staying connected between sessions or reaching people outside your city, but I've gotten far more value from my in-person groups than any digital community.
ROI
It's hard to measure the ROI from a networking group precisely. But think about the value of having a chance meeting with your next Terry Rubenfeld who makes a huge impact on your firm. Or the dollar value of a big potential problem client you didn't bring on, a hire you didn't rush into, a service line you didn't launch. Ask yourself: "Am I leaving meetings with something I'll actually act on?" If yes, then stick with it. If you consistently find the answer is no, it's time to find a better group.
Networking and peer-to-peer learning groups are like joining a gym. You get out of it what you put into it. The payoff isn't immediate, but it compounds over time if you're patient, show up consistently and come each time with a plan. Be willing to share and be a better listener than talker. The payoff can be huge.
