Introvert Advantage Accelerator

Do you really need to become louder to grow your business?

I recently joined Donna Tashjian on the Vibrant Living Podcast to talk about something I believe deeply:

You don’t have to be loud to be lucrative.

Many introverts have been taught business strategies built around constant visibility, aggressive outreach, transactional networking, and simply doing more.

But more is not always the answer.

The right strategy with the right people can be far more powerful than sheer volume.

In this conversation, Donna and I discuss:
• Building a business in a way that honors who you are
• Why introverts do not need to imitate extroverted strategies
• Understanding your audience deeply enough that they feel seen, heard, and understood
• Choosing strategy over constant activity
• Resilience, faith, and drawing strength from God rather than relying only on yourself

🎙️ Vibrant Living Podcast, Episode #242
You Don’t Have to Be Loud to Be Lucrative

Watch:
https://youtu.be/FFgWbWTKrho
Listen:
https://www.ivibrantliving.com/podcast

You Don't Have to Be Loud to Be Lucrative | Inga Faison-Cavitt Episode 242 Have you ever felt like you had to be loud, pushy, or "on" all the ...

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞.

Some arrive as photos in text messages. Paper documents still need sorting and scanning.

When I spoke with JJ, an accounting firm partner, she described both sides of this problem:

“Text and sending pictures… terrible, terrible.”

“It has to be culled and sorted… [then] scanned for retention purposes.”

Receiving the documents is only the first step. Your team still needs to get them into the right client file.

Make the process clear:
• Tell clients where to send their documents
• Assign who collects, sorts, and scans them
• Agree how to name and save the files

Start with the step taking the most team time.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞?

A. Collecting documents from texts and photos
B. Sorting incoming documents
C. Scanning and saving paperwork
D. Other: share in the comments

𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭.

Your team needs a reply to keep the work moving. The client may not realize that.

When I spoke with Gary, an accounting and tax practice owner, he described clients not getting back within a reasonable amount of time.

But what feels reasonable to the client may be too late for your team.

Make each request clear:

• Say what answer you need
• Give the client a reply date
• Set a date for your team to follow up

A reply date does not guarantee a response. It tells the client when you need an answer and helps your team plan the follow-up.

If your team keeps waiting for client answers, let's look at how you ask for replies and follow up.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞.

Your team can have the paperwork and still be missing information that affects the work.

When I spoke with Gary, an accounting and tax practice owner, he emphasized the need to receive important client information on time.

Clients may not know which business changes they need to tell you about.

Make two things clear in your client instructions:

• What business updates your firm needs
• When and how the client should share them

This gives clients a clear next step and helps your team know what to ask for.

If important updates keep arriving late, let's look at what you ask clients to share and when.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧.

You want to help, but your team needs to see what the notice says.

When I spoke with Ethan, a CPA firm owner, he described clients saying they received a tax notice without sending the notice itself.

The client may not know what to send or where to send it.

Make the next step clear in your first reply:

• Ask for the complete notice
• Explain where and how to send it
• Confirm it has arrived before your team starts working it

A clear request helps the client send what your team needs to get started.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞?

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞.

Your team cannot work from documents it cannot see.

When I spoke with Ethan, a CPA firm owner, he described paperwork that was not getting into the firm's systems because the client didn't upload the documents to the firm portal. They just dropped of their documents at office.

The documents had arrived, but the team still could not use it.

Assign someone to handle these steps:

• Scan it and upload to the firm portal
• Save it in the correct client folder
• Assign and tell the person doing the work that it is ready

Collecting the files is only the first step.

The job is finished when your remote team can find and use the documents.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭?

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

An interview can show you how well someone interviews.

It cannot prove how they will perform the work.

When I spoke with Dawn, a finance-services firm owner, she described the risk plainly:

“𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.”

A candidate can make a strong impression before the firm has seen the quality of their work.

That is why the hiring process needs a work-based check in addition to the interview.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤?

A. Skills test
B. Paid trial
C. Interview Only
D. Others - share in the comments

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬.

Your firm is not ready for a handoff if only one person knows how the process works.

When I spoke with Lois, a small-business owner and former accountant, she explained what she wanted someone to have if she stepped away:

“𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐲.”

The issue is not simply who takes over.

It is whether the next person has a copy of the documented procedures and an handoff instructions they can use.

Without those instructions, the next person may know what must be completed but not how the current process works.

𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫?

See the strategic call link in the comments.

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭.

𝐈𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫.

Catching an error in review is not the win most firms think it is.

When I spoke with JJ, an accounting firm owner, about how her firm catches errors, JJ explained:

“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫.”

A review can catch an error before completed accounting or bookkeeping work is sent to the client.

But correcting the current work should not be the final step.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:

• Correct the current work
• Find the earlier workflow step where the error began
• Update what must be checked during that step
• Keep the final review in place to confirm the correction

The review protects the quality of the current work. Correcting the earlier step helps prevent the same avoidable error from reaching review again.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧?

𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩.

𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.

What feels obvious to an experienced team member may never have been explained to a new hire.

When I spoke with EB, an experienced auditor, this assumption came up:

“𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭… 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.”

For someone who has followed the process for years, the next step may feel automatic.

A new hire does not have that experience.

If the process is not written down, a new hire must rely on an experienced team member to explain it.

𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰.

It also makes it easier to teach the same process to future hires.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞?

See the strategic call link in the comments.