As large mergers and private equity investments continue to reshape the accounting profession, some certified public accountants (CPAs) are choosing a different path: building their own firms designed around how they want to work, who they want to serve, and what success looks like to them.
Of course, the path to going it alone isn’t a simple decision. The uncertainty of finding clients, having a steady income, setting prices, and managing workload can be nerve-wracking.
For those who persevere, however, CPA firm ownership has been the way to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. Here, four CPAs offer insight into what it takes to start and grow a CPA firm today and the challenges and successes they experienced along the way.
Scott Brillhart, CPA, always knew he wanted to work for a small firm, and when he was in college, he sought out an internship with a sole proprietor—it was the perfect fit. Ten years later, he became partner, eventually forging a succession agreement when the founding partner was ready to retire.
Brillhart went on to partner with Jake Sokolowski, CPA, and their firm subsequently merged with another to become Founder’s CPA. He remembers his early days of trying to evolve and grow the firm well: “It was a risk, and we took some lumps.”
To Brillhart, starting a firm isn’t about having the perfect setup. It’s about knowing what you do well and committing to it: “First and foremost, you need to think about your core competency.” For him, that meant focusing on individual tax for high-net-worth clients. That clarity helped shape how he built his client base and where he spent his time.
One of Brillhart’s biggest adjustments to firm ownership was the financial reality of it. He notes that moving from employee to owner was a big change for him: “When I was an employee, I just got a paycheck. But as an owner, you get what you bill and collect.”
That shift forced him to think differently about the business. As he explains, when you step into the role of owner, you realize how budgeting, invoicing, cash flow, and planning for overhead become just as important as the technical work: “It’s fully on you to ensure the lights are on.”
From a growth standpoint, finding clients hasn’t been an issue for Brillhart. The challenge instead has come from finding the right people to staff the firm. His approach has been to look beyond traditional paths: “We’ve had success finding people who came to accounting later in their careers.”
Pricing is another challenge that Brillhart has had to overcome. With that, he stresses the importance of setting boundaries, no matter how difficult it is.
“I kept prices low for a long time to build relationships—when you’re just starting out, you want to try and be everything for your clients,” he says. “Try to set realistic boundaries and be as firm as possible with pricing, knowing flexibility might be needed as you grow the firm and your book.”
Overall, for those starting out on the path to firm ownership, Brillhart reminds others that there will be challenges along the journey: “It’s hard. I’ve definitely asked myself, ‘Do I want to do this anymore?’ But if it’s truly what you want to do, and there’s that fire inside of you, then yes—you can do it.”
Ultimately, Brillhart believes successful firm ownership comes down to three things: having belief in yourself, the will to overcome adversity, and patience. “You’re playing the long game,” he emphasizes. “Success isn’t going to happen overnight.”
With that, he advises those starting out to just stay the course: “There will be curves, bends, and forks. Stay on your path. You’ll get there eventually.”
Logan Graf, CPA, always knew he wanted to own something. After beginning in public accounting, his opportunity came when the firm he’d been working for sold off its traditional practice to focus on a niche. After back-and-forth negotiations, Graf became a firm owner.
Even though he was taking on an existing practice, there were a lot of lessons to be learned.
“I think you have to really want to run a business,” Graf stresses. “That distinction matters more than most people expect. Too many firm owners just recreate the job they had before, but that doesn’t work.”
Running a firm also means doing far more than technical work. “You’re doing administration, sales, marketing—everything,” he says. “You’re going to have to work really hard over the first few years. Over time, things even out if you’re intentional about how you build.”
For Graf, learning time management was key. He’s put structure around his workload, including pre-scheduling tax season work and limiting how much can be done at once. “Adopting that process has meant we’re not working crazy hours anymore,” he explains.
Another critical lesson for Graf was setting boundaries: “As CPAs, we love to help people, and because of that, we give a lot away for free. If you don’t set firm rules for yourself, you’re going to break them, and that shows up in everything from pricing to client expectations to workload.”
Pricing, in particular, was a steep learning curve for Graf. Early on, he admits that he didn’t raise his prices fast enough, and that affordability brought in more clients than he could handle. He also made the mistake of taking on work that was too complex: “It took so much of my time and mental capacity. I wasn’t enjoying my work anymore. Be careful what you say yes to, especially at the beginning.”
Overcoming self-doubt was another lesson for Graf. He encourages new firm owners to get out of their own heads: “Most of your thoughts are unwarranted.” For instance, many decisions feel riskier than they really are, especially when you’re new and overthink them: “You think a change is going to create problems, but often you make it and get no pushback. Then you wonder why you waited so long to make the change.”
For Graf, leaning on community has played a big role in how he’s built his firm and handled the challenges that came with it. He turned to online accounting communities for advice and encouragement where he received overwhelming support. That experience shaped how he operates today. “The lesson is don’t do this alone,” Graf stresses. “Surround yourself with people you can go to and ask questions.”
The support Graf received during his firm launch inspired him to create resources for other CPAs considering firm ownership. Now he has a YouTube channel where he shares how he runs his firm, and he created Counter, an online community.
Overall, much of Graf’s success comes down to designing his firm with intention. He advises CPAs to vet clients carefully, communicate expectations clearly, and build systems that support how they want to work.
“You can build yourself a prison, or you can build something that actually works for you,” Graf says.
Keila Hill-Trawick, CPA, didn’t set out to start her own firm. As a federal government auditor, her job was stable and predictable: “I thought I’d work for the feds my whole life.”
Like many CPAs, however, family and friends frequently hired her for bookkeeping and tax work. What started as a way to be helpful and make a little money on the side would soon begin to change how she thought about her career.
In her government role, she felt removed from the outcomes. “I couldn’t see the whole picture,” she says. “I wasn’t completing the loop.” With her own clients, however, it was different. “I could see I was making a difference.” That stuck with her.
She made the leap to firm ownership in a very practical way: “I quit during tax season. At the very least, I figured I’d be paid through the summer.”
From the outset, Hill-Trawick was clear on who she wanted to serve: microbusinesses and solopreneurs with small teams that were making good money but not ready for a full-time accountant. She built her firm around ongoing relationships rather than onetime projects. She also steered clear of hourly billing: “It’s about the experience of working with us, not just the task. We want to go deeper versus wider.”
Today, her team of six covers areas across tax, accounting, operations, and client relationships. But despite the range of her firm’s services, she has no interest in scaling just for the sake of it: “If we don’t make a dollar more, we’re fine. I don’t want to work all the time. Otherwise, what is it all for?”
When it comes to starting a firm, she advises others to first determine what they want to do and who they want to serve. She stresses that you don’t have to offer everything: “If you hate tax, don’t do tax. There are so many opportunities to partner with others and fill gaps without doing it all yourself.”
She also emphasizes visibility. Whether it’s videos, events, or content, people need to know who you are and what you do.
Of course, like others, starting her own firm came with many lessons. If she could go back and change a few things, she would: “I would have hired more support help and built out processes earlier.”
She also would have been more selective with clients: “When you’re starting out, you want to say yes to everything. But I ignored some client red flags, and I paid for it.”
Those red flags led her to one of her biggest lessons: The need for boundaries. “Every time I make an exception, it breaks something else,” she says. “Creating exceptions makes it even more challenging once you have a team. You can’t have everyone on the team doing things differently.”
Regardless of background, Hill-Trawick insists that anyone can build the firm of their dreams. “I’d never worked in public accounting, so I didn’t know what a firm was supposed to look like,” she says. “You have the opportunity to pick up what you want to do and make something out of it, and that’s how you’ll thrive.”
Starting his own firm wasn’t a quick decision for Tim Jipping, CPA. It came after years of working toward partner at a large firm and realizing he wanted something different: “I was going through my own journey of figuring out what I actually liked to do and what gave me energy.”
While partnership was still appealing to Jipping, the long-term path gave him pause: “I knew I’d be there for the next 30 years, and that thought was a little unsettling.”
There was also a personal influence in his decision. His father started his own firm after years at a large firm, allowing Jipping to see firsthand that someone like him could make the move.
“My dad was always around,” he says. “I liked that. With young kids at home, that flexibility mattered.”
Despite having his dad’s experience to look up to, Jipping still had practical concerns and fears of going the entrepreneurial route: “I ran all of it through my head: What if I can’t get any work? What if no one hires me?”
To work through it all, Jipping took a structured approach: “People advised me to think of the worst possible things and apply some probability to them. Then figure out how to lower that risk.”
He also tested the waters before making the leap by floating the idea to people he trusted. In fact, doing so led him to early opportunities and, unexpectedly, a contract arrangement with his former firm that gave him some steady income at the start.
Jipping acknowledges those early connections were a huge help in landing some of his first clients. One introduction led to another, including a future business partner. “Start early, build a network, and keep building it,” he stresses. “It’s about people who know people who know people.”
Beyond networking, his advice to others is simple: “You don’t need a lot of capital—you need to hustle.”
A basic setup can be done for relatively little. Jipping says what matters more than capital is getting a few clients in the door and serving them well: “Your best referrals become your clients.”
When it comes to clients, he’s also learned how to be more direct and intentional: “If someone treats your team poorly, they’re out. Some clients will leave on their own—there’s always attrition—so be ready for that.”
He also stresses being ready for everything that comes with ownership: “Be prepared to do it all. Much of the work you’re going to end up doing has nothing to do with accounting—it’s communication, coordination, and all the little things.”
Will there be ups and downs? Jipping says yes: “It’s not going to be easy, but for those willing to put in the work, the path is there. Work hard, serve your clients well, and you’ll figure it out.”
