Fiducial | We help your business grow and be profitable.

by Stephen Parezo

October 5, 2004—Growing up in an entrepreneurial environment, it seemed only fitting when Christian Brim joined the small business ranks in 1992. Originally he had wanted to study applied mathematics in college but instead earned a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Oklahoma. Perhaps it was the fact that the call to be a third generation family business owner was just too strong to ignore.

Brim operates two Fiducial offices in his native state of Oklahoma with locations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa where his brother, Nathan, runs the show. The Brothers Brim offer tax planning and counseling, financial services and business counseling.

Test of wills

It's always a challenge dealing with today's skeptical entrepreneurs who are inundated by sales pitches but Brim says the biggest hurdle is actually starting the relationship with a new client.

"There's an education process," he said. "The hardest point is finding the right clients and making sure they have the capacity to value what we do. There are cheaper bookkeeping services but that's not what we do."

Brim knows that dealing with small business owners is often a test of wills because they are dealing with very strong personalities.

"Anybody that has a small business is tenacious and is a willful person," he said. "Often times all we can do is hold up that mirror and help them see themselves as they are. From a business standpoint, we tell them 'here are some of the things that are preventing you or helping you to achieve your goals.' It's a very delicate thing. Sometimes they're going to ignore us but the clients that value our services have not."

Relishing the analytical side of the equation, Brim cites an example of a current client who operates an oilfield service business. The client had been in the industry for many years and worked around the world. He came back to the U.S. to buy his father's company with his brother. But there were some obstacles to clear first.

"They had a situation where the father probably didn't run it like a business," Brim said. While the new owner wasn't starting the business from scratch, he didn't know what to do and how to do it. So Brim put together a budget, reviewed the numbers and nursed the business through the first 18 months to two years.

"Now they do $10 million a year in revenue," he said. "To put it in perspective, it did $1.5 million when he bought it."

Sounding board

Brim is quick to point out that the company's success was due to the abilities of its owner but it was important for the owner to have that sounding board from him "to make sure he was making the right decisions."

Why should clients consider the Brothers Brim for their small business needs?

"I think what we uniquely bring to the table is being able to put together services that help our clients make more money and keep more of that money," said Brim. "It's not so much that the competition doesn't have this ability, it's putting together and focusing in a way that makes money and saves them taxes which is different than our competitors."

Certified Public Accountants are usually the key contact at the competition but Brim says that CPAs often don't offer the services Fiducial does and they're not pro-active when it comes to their clients.

Some clients have long memories and remember how sound advice from a Fiducial representative made a difference for their small business.

Recently one of Brim's tax-only clients who he sees only once a year stopped by his office. He had been a client for about six years and sold his hotel and has just bought a new one in Alabama and was moving there.

"He came in and told me 'I just wanted you to know that I appreciate what you've done. You've always done great work for me,' " Brim related, adding that the client's comment came quite unexpectedly.

"After all, we're talking a very small client here so for him to come in and say those things was quite a surprise," he said.

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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