A4G turns 30! What’s in a name?

A message from Founder of A4G, Malcolm Palmer…

1st March 1995. It doesn’t seem possible that 30 years have passed since I took over that small practice in Longfield and a new journey began.

As anyone who knows me well can tell you, I love giving business advice. In presentations, with clients, in the pub. Even in a speech at a 30th anniversary lunch with the A4G team and their families on Sunday.

In the case of this email, I’ll keep this to one thing only.

If you’re starting a business or know someone who is, tell them to think very carefully about the name.

It comes down to two choices really.

If you want a business that is all about you, then you put your name over the door.

That way everyone will associate the business with you. You’ll get to take the credit for everything good that happens. But you’ll also get the blame for everything that goes wrong. Even years after you’ve sold the business.

Alternatively, if you want to build a business that is all about what you believe in, then find a name that does what it says on the tin. Something like Accountants for Growth or A4G for short.

And then if you work really hard with a bit of luck on top, you’ll end up working with a group of people that believe in the same things that you do.

And alongside the hard work and all the challenges you have to deal with along the way, you’ll get a buzz about the things you achieve together with those people. You’ll laugh a lot. You might get to watch skinny teenagers straight out of school turn into professional people that are trusted by clients and colleagues.

And you’ll find yourself at a bar once a year with your credit card buying rounds of Jaegerbombs and other concoctions. You might even have to apologise to your neighbours every couple of years about the drunken singing of Abba songs at 1am in the morning that woke them up.

And then 30 years after you started, you’ll find yourself making a speech to many of the people who made those 30 years fly past so quickly.

So thank you to all my colleagues who have been part of the journey.

And thank you to all our clients who I love working for. As a thank you, I’ve written a book called “Making your business less dependent on you” which will be released next month. If you’d like a free digital copy, input your details here.

PS – Look out for some big news coming next month…..

PPS – We’re hosting a special event focused on maximising your wealth despite the tax increases: “It’s not what you’ve earned, it’s what you keep,” on Friday, March 28th. Discover the full agenda and book your place here.