Company address:
W229 N1433 Westwood Drive,
Suite 104, Waukesha, WI 53186
Company website: www.jannsen.com
Industry: Financial, business & technology advisory services for owner-managed businesses, including traditional CPA Services
Number of employees: 25
Education: Bachelor of business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Family: Wife, Lisa; son, Taylor, age 16; and daughter, Kelsey, age 13.
What will be your company’s main challenge in the next year?
"The CPA industry continues to be scrutinized in the post-Enron world, which has caused increased standards that don’t provide value to our clients. In some cases, it could actually decrease the quality and timeliness of our services if it’s not handled properly. We continue to strive to maintain our high level of client service while adhering to increased professional standards."
Do you have a business mantra?
"Client care holds the k to the future."
From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?
"There are so many people that I’ve learned from in my career, because I’ve been privileged to serve so many successful businesses. I’ve taken a little from each one of them and tried to implement the ‘best practices.’ Overall, I would have to say the No. 1 individual is my father (company founder Marty Jannsen). He has always had a no-nonsense approach to business and tells it like it is to whoever he works with, whether it be a client, partner or employee. Most importantly, he taught me to provide an enjoyable work environment for our team by having fun everyday."
What was the best advice you ever received?
"Treat your team members (employees) as you would like to be treated and have fun every day."
What’s new at your company?
"We started our own full-service payroll company less than two years ago, which has proved to be a great addition to our service offerings. The clients appreciate our level and consistency of service. We were very fortunate to have team members that were willing to take on this project with enthusiasm and a level of commitment that has made it successful. We have also experienced some significant growth in the last year, which has caused us to add a large number of new team members in the past 12 months. The addition of these new people has caused some challenges but has also added a new level of energy that will only continue to feed the growth pattern we’ve been fortunate enough to achieve."
Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?
"Our firm has invested heavily in technology for many years. We are currently about 95 percent paperless, so it is vital that the technology we provide our team allows them to be efficient and productive. In conjunction with this, we have a plan to replace all of our computer equipment every three to four years, and we also provide the opportunity for our team to work from home."
What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?
"We started to send our CPAs to ‘non-traditional’ training. We’ve always done an extensive amount of continuing education for technical and management consulting, but we have now started to include sales training. For CPAs, this is a tough mindset, and we found training through our national affiliate (CPAmerica International) that allows a CPA to sell within his or her natural style and not stepping too far "out of the box." We’ve already seen a great deal of payoff from the training, and it’s actually created a marketing competition within the firm."
What’s the hottest trend in your industry?
"For years, firms in our industry have tried to be a ‘one stop shop,’ which continues today. Our firm, like many others, has added services to meet our client demands and for the small business owner, it’s much more convenient to go to one place for all of their needs, including accounting, tax, IT consulting, payroll, wealth management, and much more. For the areas we don’t serve directly, we’ve formed strategic alliances with some of the best in the metro area, including legal services, group benefits, business insurance, residential mortgages and HR consulting."
August 19, 2005, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI
