Who's Really the BOSS?
Who's Really the BOSS?

Who's Really the BOSS?

Marcus Dillon, Rachel Dillon

Overview
Episodes

Details

"Who's Really the BOSS?" highlights the joys and challenges of running a CPA firm with your spouse or family. From hiring and terminating to improving capacity, cash flow, and culture, our conversations cover leadership, operations, and current accounting industry challenges. Our mission is to strengthen families and accounting firms by helping listeners avoid the mistakes we have made, so they can lead and live happily ever after.

Recent Episodes

DBA 3.0: Remote Work, Team of Three, and the Reinvention That Took 15 Years
APR 13, 2026
DBA 3.0: Remote Work, Team of Three, and the Reinvention That Took 15 Years
Marcus and Rachel Dillon pick up where they left off, walking through the third major chapter of Dillon Business Advisors: from the shift to fully remote work and the development of their Team of Three model, to two strategic acquisitions that pushed the firm past $6 million in revenue. Marcus also pulls back the curtain on the conversations he's having now with firm owners at every size, from $1M to $250M, about succession, technology, and what it really means to build enterprise value. It's a candid look at where DBA has been and the questions every firm owner should be asking about where the industry is headed.SponsorsDiscover.AI -  discover.ai Introducing Collective by DBAhttps://collective.cpahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collectivebydbaLearn More About Dillon Business Advisorshttps://www.dillonadvisors.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dillonbusinessadvisorsSign up to get free CPE for listening to this podcasthttps://earmarkcpe.comDownload the Earmark CPE AppApple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app(00:00) - Welcome to Who's Really the Boss (02:21) - Remote Work Pivot (03:33) - Tech Stack for Remote (06:02) - Exiting Audit Practice (07:27) - PPP and ERC Surge (08:24) - Team of Three Model (14:45) - Rebrand SEO Fallout (18:11) - Capacity and Growth Choices (19:21) - Strategic Acquisitions 2025 (26:18) - Owner Hours and Balance (29:47) - Leadership Retreat Insights (30:39) - Industry Deal Chatter (32:39) - Succession Stewardship Mindset (34:43) - Managing Partner Reality Check (36:54) - Legacy Firms vs Enterprise Value (41:31) - Rollups Create New Niches (46:43) - Optionality and Independence (51:47) - Short Horizon Strategy (53:16) - Team Structure Upskilling (56:42) - Closing Advice and Patience
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58 MIN
15 Years of DBA: The Origin Story
MAR 30, 2026
15 Years of DBA: The Origin Story
Marcus and Rachel Dillon reflect on 15 years of Dillon Business Advisors, tracing the firm's origins from a cold-letter acquisition of a $400K book in 2011 through two distinct five-year chapters of growth, tough lessons, and reinvention. They cover the early grind of building stability, a mentor acquisition that didn't go as planned, strategic client block sales, and the unexpected pivot that COVID forced on the firm.SponsorsDiscover.AI -  discover.ai Introducing Collective by DBAhttps://collective.cpahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collectivebydbaLearn More About Dillon Business Advisorshttps://www.dillonadvisors.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dillonbusinessadvisorsSign up to get free CPE for listening to this podcasthttps://earmarkcpe.comDownload the Earmark CPE AppApple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app(00:00) - Welcome to Who's Really the Boss (01:00) - Life Updates (06:42) - Recharge Mexico Plans (08:57) - DBA 15 Year Lookback (12:23) - Why Start DBA (18:44) - Leaving Firm For Family (22:24) - Early Goals And Acquisition (25:38) - Scrappy First Years (32:15) - First Five Years Growth (34:53) - 2016 Milestones And Family (38:10) - Acquiring Mentor Practice (39:17) - Culture Clash And New Office (40:56) - Tax Season Chaos And Billing (44:10) - Systems Coach And MRR Push (48:34) - Spinning Off Clients And Office (51:11) - 2019 Focus And Boundaries (55:40) - COVID Remote Shift And Audit Exit (59:33) - Revenue Floor And Margin Goals (01:02:52) - Wrapping Up & Chapter Two
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63 MIN
Running a Remote Accounting Firm From a Mexican Beach
MAR 16, 2026
Running a Remote Accounting Firm From a Mexican Beach
Sandra Koch founded Aurora Consulting Group in 2011 and spent years chasing the dream of a beautiful brick-and-mortar office — then sold the building, went fully remote, and eventually moved to a small coastal town in Baja California with dirt roads and 25 species of whales. She joins Marcus and Rachel to talk about the anxiety of going remote, the grief of letting go of a physical space, and why she now believes her clients get a better version of her than they ever did when she was managing an office.SponsorsDiscover.AI -  discover.ai Introducing Collective by DBAhttps://collective.cpahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collectivebydbaLearn More About Dillon Business Advisorshttps://www.dillonadvisors.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dillonbusinessadvisorsSign up to get free CPE for listening to this podcasthttps://earmarkcpe.comDownload the Earmark CPE AppApple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app(00:00) - Welcome to Who's Really the Boss (01:19) - Life in Mexico (02:00) - Firm Origins and Growth (04:05) - Going Fully Remote (12:05) - Client Visits and Meals (13:57) - Client Mixer Playbook (20:23) - Letting Go of Office (25:45) - Remote Hiring and Culture (30:37) - Incentives That Stick (34:48) - Why Retreats Matter (36:16) - Missing The Office Myth (39:50) - Better Owner Better Service (42:50) - 2026 Focus Words (46:05) - Trust Clean Help (47:41) - Science Experiment Mindset (50:59) - Collective Community Impact (55:52) - Closing And Next Steps
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57 MIN
Building a Referral Pipeline That Actually Works
MAR 2, 2026
Building a Referral Pipeline That Actually Works
Rachel and Marcus pull back the curtain on how Dillon Business Advisors went from zero website leads after a botched domain migration to a packed January calendar full of prospective client meetings. They trace the full lead journey — from SEO recovery and HubSpot automation to referral partner relationships and the pre-call nurturing that warms prospects before Rachel even says hello.SponsorsDiscover.AI -  discover.ai Introducing Collective by DBAhttps://collective.cpahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collectivebydbaLearn More About Dillon Business Advisorshttps://www.dillonadvisors.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/dillonbusinessadvisorsSign up to get free CPE for listening to this podcasthttps://earmarkcpe.comDownload the Earmark CPE AppApple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app(00:00) - BOSS S5E5 (00:28) - January Survival Recap (02:18) - Sales Calls Surge (04:18) - Rebrand Website Fallout (08:40) - Traffic Drops to Zero (10:38) - Audits and Vendor Lessons (13:12) - Calendar Automation Flow (21:03) - Nurturing Before Calls (23:21) - Where Leads Come From (25:31) - Tax Season Referral Tips (26:29) - Reviews and Testimonials (27:50) - Make Reviews Easy (28:31) - Celebrate Team Wins (29:43) - Track Client Case Studies (31:40) - Lead With Results (33:25) - Discovery Call Agenda (36:11) - Where Leads Come From (37:34) - Referral Partner Outreach (40:26) - Webinars and Playbook (42:58) - Events and Capacity (46:31) - In Person Lead Gen (50:33) - Final Action Steps
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53 MIN