Fiducial | We help your business grow and be profitable.

by Stephen Parezo

Bill Neel

November 16, 2005—In 2006 William (Bill) Neel will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his office and the Fiducial franchisee in Clayton, MO, still has some of the original clients he started with when he opened his doors back in 1981.

Neel recalled that he was one of the first accountants in St. Louis, MO, to do his own marketing at that time. He went door to door which many thought was a very unique way of seeking new clients but it was an approach that suited his personality and love of people. In fact, that’s what first attracted him to operate his own business.

“I enjoy working with people and helping them whenever I can, letting them know when their company is doing well and not so well,” said Neel who believes that his personal touch over the years has made the difference in signing up new clients.

“We’ve picked up clients who said there was nobody looking over their shoulder directing them,” he said. “We are giving them reports that are meaningful and timely. In a lot of cases with bigger accounting firms, these smaller clients are just a side business.”

For Neel, being a responsive accountant really means looking after the best interests of his small business clients. Sometimes it’s telling them that they can’t do certain things because it will hurt the business. Once he had to step in when a retail store owner had two locations and desired a third. But Neel advised against any further expansion because the market would just not support it. So the owner went back and consolidated his second store and began concentrating on his primary store which made all the difference.

“That store has done increasingly well over the years,” he said.

Giving them the straight scoop

It’s not always easy when Neel has to burst an entrepreneur’s bubble but it’s necessary to keep their business afloat. When he sees an owner that continues to struggle and keeps on investing their own money, that’s when Neel has to use some tough love.

“I sit them down and tell them ‘I don’t know if this was meant to be,’” he said. “Then they realize what’s going on. They just needed somebody to tell it to them.”

Born in Memphis, TN, Neel grew up in St. Louis. Since he always tested well in math during scholastic aptitude tests he decided to major in accounting. As it turned out, he says he really enjoys it and he’s glad he did it. He earned a BS in accounting at the University of Missouri and now has 36 years of experience working in the field.

Neel knows how tough it is for small business owners to compete. Even for those entrepreneurs who have built a successful business, a second location may just not be in the cards. He’s see this first hand especially with restaurants.

“They did really well and opened a second location but the quality started going down at the first location,” he said.

Having sufficient working capital is essential to maintaining the high standards that made the business a success in the first place. If a business can’t sustain those high standards or maintain the consistent quality that made their business a standout to begin with, then things won’t work out.

Neel finds that those small business owners needing the most help these days are start-ups.

“They need a lot of hand holding,” he said. “A lot of people go into business not knowing what they’re doing and come to me after they’ve made some mistakes.”

He’s there when they need him

One of the biggest mistakes, he says, is that these start-ups are under capitalized.

“What you’ll see is they put everything on credit cards then when the credit cards are maxed out they have nothing left,” he said.

Neel reminds potential owners and those already in business that they have to anticipate what their cash flow is going to be. That way they know where they are in relation to where they need to be. He admitted that he’s anticipated the growth of his own business to be greater than it was so he had to make some adjustments along the way. All businesses need new clients and for some, hitting the streets and knocking on doors is difficult.

“It’s easier to stay in doors then to go out and do what you have to do,” he said.

In nearly a quarter of century of service to small business owners, Neel says his clients find it reassuring that they have someone that’s been there when they need him.

“I’m also there when they don’t have a problem,” he said. “We try to explain things to them so they’ll understand. I enjoy what I’m doing. If I didn’t that would show to my clients and therefore I wouldn’t have any.”

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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