Today's Guest

The Largo Group was founded by Anne Gannon, CPA in 2016. Anne has 15+ years of experience and began her career as a CPA with a big-five accounting firm in Boston, MA where she quickly realized the only winner in the 'busy season' approach was the accounting firm. Anne set out to form The Largo Group based on the fundamental idea that monthly accounting and tax services could be done more efficiently. Anne shared the transformational impact she’s seen when small businesses adopt this revolutionary approach to their accounting practice. 

Follow on Social:

Episode Transcript

(Please excuse grammatical errors due to transcription)



Gordon Henry:             Hey, this is Gordon Henry at Winning on Main Street. And this week we get to meet Anne Gannon. Welcome Anne.

Anne Gannon:              Oh, thank you so much for having me.

Gordon Henry:             Good to have you. So brief intro on Anne. Anne Gannon is a CPA. She's an entrepreneur and former professional golfer who founded the Largo group in 2016. Anne's goal was to build a firm focused on providing business owners with the information they need to make better decisions on a daily basis. Anne began her career as a CPA with a big five accounting firm in Boston, where she came to realize that the only winner in the quote busy season approach was the accounting firm. As the daughter of a lifelong entrepreneur Anne set out to form the Largo group based on the fundamental ideal that monthly accounting and tax services could be done in a more efficient way.

                                   So, Anne, great to have you tell us what is the Largo group?

Anne Gannon:              Yeah, so basically we are everything the normal accounting firm isn't, in that we really want to be involved with our clients throughout the year. We don't have the billable hours. We have a flat fee approach and really the goal is to have good conversations, to know what our clients' goals are and then make sure that what we're providing is helping them reach their goals.

Gordon Henry:             So what are some of the key problems you're solving for small businesses? What do they come to you other than just do my taxes, helping me with the accounting? What are the problems you're solving?

Anne Gannon:              I mean, in some ways it's more than accounting when you're engaged in a more familiar relationship, because you have time to really pick their brain about what are some of the stopping points or sticking what isn't working. But so I think a lot of times, the first problem you're solving is the fear of the financial statement. That they're inherently afraid to look or they don't understand, or they don't trust it because they don't understand. So I think the first thing you're trying to do is really build that trust with them and say, okay, why don't you think this is right? Because you could be right if I don't have all the information. So let's figure that out together because you don't trust it what's the point. So that's the first hurdle. And then I think it's getting them to look at ways to improve it, to not be afraid, to look at their results, but look at it and see, well, let's set a goal to make it better next week or let next month.

Gordon Henry:             Do you help small business owners understand the fundamentals of accounting or at least understand how to read their financial statements?

Anne Gannon:              Yes. Yes. I think a lot of times my approach is to not go too into the weeds of the accounting fundamentals, because I think in a lot of ways, there's a lot of fear there, but my approach is really to have them focus on cash flow. Say at a minimum your responsibility as a business owner is you need to know what your cash flow is. And that's not something your bookkeeper's going to tell you, or your accountant's going to tell you like you as an owner, have a responsibility here. I think sometimes as small business owners, it's easy to say, well, my bookkeeper didn't tell me I was losing money. Well, because again, accountants really don't see it that way, which is weird, but they don't. Like she reconciled the bank account, so she was happy. She didn't care that the cash was gut down 40,000, but as an owner, there's an element where you have to be involved as well to make sure that you are paying attention just as much as your accounting team.

Gordon Henry:             So you became an entrepreneur, you left a big five accounting firm to become an entrepreneur and run your own business. Tell us a little bit about that. How did you decide to make that journey?

Anne Gannon:              Yeah, so I think I've always sort of been entrepreneurial and in public accounting, it's hard because you're just under this gun of billable hours and to be successful, you actually have to spend the least amount of time possible with your clients, which is really weird. So it just inherently didn't seem to work and I've always just had such a heart for entrepreneurs for small business. My dad had a small business growing up and his business actually failed. And watching that really was eye opening to understand that these businesses fail every day and I think a lot of times when you've come through the ranks in accounting and did internships, you don't really realize how real these numbers are. And so the real driving force was just if anything, I want to make a difference, I love accounting, but I'd also like to really make a difference every day. And I think that there's a way with having accounting knowledge to really help small business owners.

Gordon Henry:             And has your own entrepreneurial journey been a success from day one? Like you started in 2016. So you've been doing this six years. That sounds pretty good. Have you had bumps along the way?

Anne Gannon:              Oh yeah. I think everybody has. Yeah. I mean I started off, I really had this ideal vision of that it was going to really change the way that you relate to clients. And so at first it was really hard to figure out how do you convince people that's the case, because nobody wants to talk about accounting and they really don't care until they really care. So in the earlier years it was hard just to get people to pay attention, but then found my footing in the hospitality industry and just started to meet some great people in the hospitality industry that saw what I was trying to do and saw that it's a great fit for restaurant owners, because a lot of restaurants, it's very hard to do accounting for restaurants. There's a lot of moving parts. So even if they're trying to do it on their own, it's very hard to do it well. So there's definitely a need there.

Gordon Henry:             I was wondering if you've reflected on your career as a professional athlete, how did that help you develop the mindset necessary to run your own successful business? Was there a connection there?

Anne Gannon:              So when I left golf, I really didn't like to draw on it, because it was so weird going into accounting because people are... Most accountants have come from accounting, they haven't played a sport and then gone to do accounting. And so I tried to keep it very separate, but then I realized pretty quickly that there are a lot of similarities in what you're trying to do and mindset is very important. But I think it really wasn't until COVID that I realized how different the mindset is between I think the business owners that are able to continue to move forward, and some that struggle that a lot of times the difference really is just their mindset, because I would be talking to people who had the exact same business model, similar location, similar struggles, obviously everyone had similar struggles in 2020. And one was able to just be like, this is going to be great. There's going to be restaurants for sale. This is my opportunity. I've been waiting for this. And the other ones just couldn't get there. Like they couldn't see the forest through the trees.

                                   And so it really it made me bring more into my conversations with them mindset. Like what are you thinking about? Because it's not just black and white. Like sometimes it really is their fear or uncertainty and that makes all the difference.

Gordon Henry:             Right. Wow. That's so interesting that you were able to see that. So you wrote a book actually on business during the pandemic called Never Again, An Entrepreneur's Guide to Creating Resilient Business During the COVID 19 Pandemic Recovery. So what are the key messages? Do you talk about this idea of how some were able to see the forest for the trees and others have that problem?

Anne Gannon:              I think the biggest thing that we talk about in Never Again is the idea of you being in control. I think a lot of the business owners that were really floundering at the beginning of COVID, were the ones that were waiting on their bookkeeper to do something, or waiting on their accountant to do something. And I can't do anything until I get my tax return and not willing to own part of it. to really say it doesn't matter what my process was before, I'm going to go look at my bank statement and see what's going on. What's the sales I need to bring in to break even and just own their decision making. And I think that's the biggest lesson of COVID is that ultimately you are in control and there's no getting out of avoiding the accounting part of it, because your decisions will be better if you know little things like what's the break even point with this level of management team.

                                   Because that was the biggest thing, especially in COVID it's I want to keep my manager. Well, that's great, but that means your sales need to be 5,000 more a week or a month or whatever that is. But if you don't know that number, then you don't know if that's a good decision and then you're just afraid.

Gordon Henry:             Yeah. Wow. So now we're mostly past COVID I would say, but you've got these new problems. You've got inflation, you've got labor shortages. How are you guiding your clients through these new changes, new challenges?

Anne Gannon:              Yeah. So we're actually offering a weekly accountability challenge, because what's interesting is everything that worked in COVID it's such a similar problem now, even though on paper, it looks completely different. But if you think about COVID, the problem was, people didn't want to come in the restaurant, they were afraid. So you had to be very creative and business owners were able to do that or do curbside and all of those great things.

                                   Think about now what we're standing on the corner of is people are afraid to come in, because they can't afford it. And I think if business owners are able to take that same collaborative approach and meet people where they are, they'll be fine. They'll figure out a way to provide a quality, something like not discount your burger to something that loses you money, but a smaller burger or sliders or something to meet the customer where they are. Instead of just saying, well, it's $15 burger and I'm sorry, that's not going to work, but you already saw it work with your customer wants. So I think if we can be creative as business owners, provide value and work with our customers, there's no reason we can't find opportunity in this crazy time.

                                   But the scariest thing now is if you haven't been doing weekly accounting and you don't know how much your numbers have changed, it's very hard to make sure that you're not priced out. I mean, I read an article today that was consumer, it's gone up 12% for grocery purchases in the last year, but some products are more than that. I mean like chickens two and a half times what it was a year ago. So if you're a business owner and you don't know that, you have no idea. So the first thing is we just have to figure out where you are and then be creative and provide value.

Gordon Henry:             We're going to take a quick break, fascinating conversation with Anne Gannon of Largo group. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

                                   Every year, an estimated 90% of high income earning Americans overpay in tax. Yes, overpay. This is particularly true for business owners. However, it's also true for high salaried employees. If only they had the time and knowhow to navigate over 70,000 pages of tax code, like the larger companies that pay zero or very little in tax.

                                   Well, the good news is that there is hope and it starts with a brief phone call with Mark Myers. Mark is the founder of Peak Profit Solutions. If you're a loyal listener of winning on main street, then you've heard him on our show. Mark is a tax savings architect. He has a track record of reducing his client's tax burden by between 30 and 60% without replacing your CPA and without having to invest in any high risk assets.

                                   If you're tired of overpaying the IRS and want to lower your tax rates, like the big guys do, book a free 20 minute consultation with Mark, you can do this by going to PeakProfitsolutions.com that's peakprofitsolutions.com and simply clicking on the schedule appointment option knowledge is only powerful when properly applied.

                                   And we're back with Anne Gannon. Anne great conversation. I'm really curious about this whole COVID experience you had with the restaurants. I'm sure many of them applied for these PPP loans we heard so much about. Did most of them get it and has that actually helped them through the transition from COVID now back to kind of regular life?

Anne Gannon:              Yes. Although I think as people look back on the early days of the COVID pandemic, it's amazing what they were able to do. I think the first part is that really the world shut down around March 15th, 2020 for restaurant owners in particular. They still had a full payroll to get through, because of the timing of you pay your employees a week later, or two weeks later and that included tip money for most of them. So you had large payrolls that still had to come through while you were literally collecting zero in revenue. Plus then you had your payables, which may have been 30 days or two weeks. So all of a sudden your cash picture, it's gone, obliterated.

                                   And so once you got to April 1st, when we were doing podcasts every week and our third week, well the first two weeks we had had a huge outpouring, thousands of people on the third week, it dropped by about 20%. And the gentleman I was doing the podcast with said, this is the week that they decide to close. Because they don't have, most restaurants did not have more than two weeks of cash flow. They just didn't. And if you think about it, they still had another three weeks to get through before the first round of PPP really started to hit the bank. And I remember it was a scary time, because the first round it finished in like 48 hours and maybe a third of them got something. And then thankfully they had another round of it.

                                   But even once they had the PPP, I mean, the rules were so convoluted and confusing that the first batch that got it were told they had to spend the money in eight weeks. If you don't spend the money in eight weeks, you have, you're going to owe us this money back. So you're looking at a failing business that has no cash and if you don't pay out all the money to your employees in eight weeks, you're now going to have this huge loan, like huge dollar amounts, hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I give them so much credit, because my only advice to them was trust your gut. I can't tell you what to do. Nobody knows. This is a brand new world, but you have to be okay with this decision because nobody knows where we're going to be in eight weeks.

                                   And I was one who thought it was going to be like over quickly, but even I knew like you don't know that. So you, this is your one time. This is your biggest asset is your business. So this has to be a decision you're comfortable with. And the ones that chose to say, I don't care. If it's a loan, it's a loan, I'll deal with it. They were the ones that ended up the best, because they held it.

                                   They ended up changing the rules to a 24 week thing. They were able to pay employees, but at the same time, make sure you have money for startup, because just to get your restaurant open again. Your inventory all went bad, now you got to get new inventory. You got to retrain your employees, because it's brand new world with masks and safety. I mean, that alone is tens of thousands of dollars. So just the fact that they were smart enough to see that and then make sure that they had a path back, I mean, those are the ones that made it. And it's incredible to look back and see the ones who were able to say, I know what I need to do. I know how to get back up and running and this is what I'm going to do.

Gordon Henry:             Yeah. If you can get through that, I guess you can get through anything. Gives you a lot of confidence.

Anne Gannon:              Yes. [inaudible 00:16:54] something.

Gordon Henry:             I was reading that you're more involved with your client's operations than somebody might think normally of an accountant or tax person. Tell us about that. Is that something you get involved with? You've talked during the show here about hiring and what kind of food you're buying and your pricing and those sound like very operational decisions. Is that something you actually get in the conversation with?

Anne Gannon:              Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of what I do is more on the better understanding of their growth path. So I think more, you can look at a P&L and really understand where there's efficiency, inefficiency, opportunities. Then you can really decide if they're ready to scale. So a lot of what I love to do is work with people who have a vision to say I'm here now, but I really want five more locations in five years, because I think that what happens is there's such a vacuum there. Like you're good at your day to day and things are turning along, but the hard part, especially in a restaurant is a week can turn in a month to turn into a year and all of a sudden you've lost 12 months and you haven't really moved forward in those goals.

                                   So lot of why I try to do is teach our clients to look at their P&L as that story. Like it has to show a profit now, or it doesn't matter what you want. Like, no one's going to invest in this thing unless we can prove it now. So I think a lot of the old school way was like, it doesn't really matter. I don't want to pay taxes, but this is your story. And a lot of them, it's your life story. So we want it to show as a success and that will springboard you into many other things. And I think as they get the buy in of looking at some of the efficiencies and things they could do differently, then it becomes exciting for where they can go.

Gordon Henry:             So we just have a couple of minutes left. I have a quick lightning round. I want to ask you a couple quick questions. First of all, on the topic of golf. What's your favorite golf course?

Anne Gannon:              Oh, that's a hard question. I would say Philadelphia Country Club. I love that though. I love the traditional layouts and I just think the greenery there, that's my favorite golf.

Gordon Henry:             Okay, great. What's your biggest pet peeve

Anne Gannon:              Inefficiency, as in an accounting way.

Gordon Henry:             Makes sense. All right. Who is your ideal client?

Anne Gannon:              I would say someone who has a vision. I love educating people on accounting and trying to make it fit the ... I think that's the fascinating part is someone who truly sees something that doesn't exist yet. And I think it's such a challenge and opportunity to try to help them get there.

Gordon Henry:             Okay. And last one, what is your favorite book or movie?

Anne Gannon:              Oh, sorry, go. I watched a golf one the other day that was, I forgot how good it was, the Greatest Game Ever Played. So many good quotes and lessons in that movie.

Gordon Henry:             Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one. All right. Well, Anne, to wrap up here, I'm eager to ask you, how should our listeners get in touch with you? What's the best way for people to reach out to you and learn more about potentially working with you?

Anne Gannon:              Yeah. So check out our website, thelargogroup.com. We offer lots of free courses. We have our seven day weekly accountability challenge going on, but we're constantly offering free resources to anyone interested.

Gordon Henry:             Can they book a quick free consultation? 15 to 20 minute consult?

Anne Gannon:              Yes.

Gordon Henry:             Okay, great. Yes. I know people love to do that. Well, Anne thanks for stopping by. Great to have you on the show. And I really enjoyed speaking with you.

Anne Gannon:              Yes. Thank you so much. This was fun.

Resources Shared

• The Largo Group
• Shotmaker: An Owner’s Guide to Creating a Winning Business by Anne Gannon
• Shotmaker Podcast
• The Largo Group Academy
• Thryv
  

Listener Reviews