7 business lessons from working with 800+ clients in 7 years

7 August 2018.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India deemed me worthy enough to admit me as a Member.

Having cleared my exams with flying colours, I really thought that I was at the peak of my knowledge.

Boy, wasn’t I wrong?

The next 7 years passed like the blink of an eye.

After working with 800+ clients, I sat down to curate my learnings from experiences in business

Without further ado, let’s dive deep.

This has to be #1 in this entire list.

If I had to tell you only one thing which separates businesses which remain successful from the ones which keep struggling, it is this.

Without exception, all my clients who are doing well have invested a lot (time, energy, money) in building systems and processes.

Purchases? A proper SOP in place.

Employee leaving? A proper checklist in place.

Handling of petty cash? A proper system in place.

I cannot even begin to tell you how important this is.

A client of mine who did just INR 1.1 crore in revenue (FY23) engaged us for an internal audit to ensure that the systems in all departments are being followed properly.

The same client closed FY25 at a turnover of INR 17 crores – and the CEO spends 90% of his time in Business development.

That is possible only because he invested in systems at a time when it was not even making “sense” financially.

Size does not matter, systems are God in the world of business.

I used to be obsessed with being the smartest in the room. I used to be obsessed at delivering value to every board room I walk in (I admit I still am, haha).

But after talking to so many clients, I have realized that my talent is not the reason they work with me.

It is simply because I do what I say.

Really, it is that simple.

You may be topping the Forbes 30u30 list or be a 160-IQ genius out of college, people will not prefer to work with you if you are not reliable.

Just doing what you committed to do may sound like the “bare minimum”, but in the business world, it builds trust faster than the Chinese build houses.

A client of mine was called to give a technical presentation before a Parliamentary committee.

His competitors (even big corporations) were invited too. All of them delivered insane value and showcased how they were thought leaders of the technical stuff.

But my client did something different. He realised that the Parliamentary Committee was made of people who had ZERO technical knowledge. So he delivered lesser value but in simple language which was understood by everyone.

Needless to say, his work was greatly appreciated and he built lasting relationships with every member.

Doesn’t hurt to have Members of Parliament in your contact list, eh?

“Communication is key” is the sort of advice you get about relationships. I believe it equally applies to business.

Yet it is incomplete. Comprehension is so important. As crucial as it is to get the message right, it is even more crucial to be understood.

Terms and conditions? Inform in advance.

A long project? Be in regular communication, even when there is no significant update.

Missing a deadline? Don’t ghost your client, call/ meet and inform in advance.

We all make mistakes. And proactive communication signals owning up. And I have seen clients being more forgiving when I communicate in a way that they understand.

This advice is definitely what you get in a job. You should make your boss look good. You should make his life easier. So on.

And yes, I agree. This equally applies in business too.

You may be thinking “In my business, I am my own boss! I started my business to escape the rat race…”

Blah blah, but here’s the thing. (I already apologise if it is a bitter pill to swallow).

As an entrepreneur, your “boss” is your client. He may not dictate what time you get in or leave your office. But your client runs how you conduct business.

Wait, there’s more.

Almost all businesses have more than one customer or client.

So that means you are technically working for many, many bosses! (Atleast, in a job, you would have just one reporting manager!)

So the principle remains the same. You HAVE to make your boss’ life easier, not hard.

The most successful businesses I have worked with have an insane focus on customer satisfaction.

Be it product development or after-sales support, the intention has to be to make your customers’ life easier. The rest follows.

I was talking to one client who got featured in Forbes 40u40 and is one of the leaders in the B2B SaaS space. He had just won a literal million-dollar deal with a Fortune 500 client.

“How do you close deals so effortlessly?” I quipped, looking for advice to polish my own sales skills.

He smiled, “I listen, I observe.”

No, it CAN’T be that simple, right?

All my reading of books on psychology, body language suddenly flashed before my eyes. My client was actually right.

Just by listening to verbal and non-verbal cues, you spot things.

You see, we adults are pathetic communicators.

As kids, we would instantly express what we want. But then, we grew up. Society taught us to be manipulative to get what we want and restricted in our speech.

And that seeps into business as well.

Most people don’t know how to voice what they want. Yes, read that again.

Even with correct intentions, most adults are unable to communicate their needs in a way that (they think) is acceptable.

They will say a few things, hold back many more, zone out overanalysing your responses and so on.

I won’t leave you without an example and solution–

This is what I see the most everyday – You are in a meeting and if someone crosses their arms, it is a defensive position. They are currently closed to receiving any new ideas, even if they do not realise it yet. In such a moment, try to make them uncross their arms by getting them to agree on something.

If you are able to catch on what your client truly wants and is thinking in the moment, that is 90% of the job done. Trust me, everyone (without exception) gives non-verbal cues.

Imagine being able to read someone’s mind – and the kind of power that gives you in a room.

I have a 65-year old client who is the market leader with 80% share in his space. Safe to say, he does not “need” to do anything. He is a technical expert in industrial machines but he recently took 3 online courses on digital marketing!

I played the devil’s advocate. “But you can hire the best agencies in the world”

“Yes, but who will guide them?”

It was a simple innocent response coming from a humble stalwart. Yet, it is deeper than that.

It is very easy to say “I will pay an expert to take care of XYZ”. That even sounds cool.

In my experience, an “expert” cannot succeed until they are guided properly on what they have to do. Even then, it takes a lot of trial-and-error to achieve the results you want.

And to know what you can achieve in that field, you need to know how that field works.

My worst clients are those who have no vision for their finance function. Anything we do never seems to be good enough.

And that’s natural – if you don’t know where to go, you’ll never be happy with where you reach.

Be it marketing, hiring, or your finances, a business owner has to be a complete all-rounder.

Every skill that is essential to your business needs to be learnt by you. Outsourcing it completely only delays a negative outcome.

In the real world, there is no knight in shining armour. No one is coming to save you.

Before you ask when did this become a philosophical and philanthropy discourse, this final lesson is my own observation of having closely worked with 800+ clients

I have seen a strange correlation between insane success and insane philanthropy.

I am not talking about the Tatas. I am not qualified to talk about such huge institutions, yet, though they are shining examples of my point.

Just by looking at my own experience and my clients, I have seen that the people who donate and do charity in causes they are passionate about are insanely successful.

No, I am not talking about legally-mandated CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Every business owner knows ways around that <<wink, wink>>

I am talking about technocrats and entrepreneurs who work 16 hours a day, yet still find time to do good work. Run orphanages, sponsor education, plant trees, and what not.

It seems counter-intuitive. After all, the ideal image of a “successful businessman” is someone dressed in suits closing deals in his Maybach and flying Business Class.

Where do they have time for doing good work?

But the ground reality is vastly different.

My most insanely successful clients may be militants while conducting business, but they are equally caring and generous in their philanthropy.

And they were givers wayyy before they became successful.

Our ancestors would call it “kisi ki dua lagna” (Good blessings from others). Naysayers will call it a strange co-incidence.

But there is no denying that it exists.

There is a very, very strong correlation between people who succeed and people who give.

My final message for today is –

Give, give, give. If you cannot give money, give time. But give in any way you can.

It will come back to you 100x.

I promise.

Last Sunday, I sat down to prepare this article and list down my business learnings in these past 7 years.

While I originally thought I will struggle to come up with a list, I ended up listing 25-30 of them!

It was obviously difficult to select just 7, so I will cover the remaining ones in a later series, depending on your response. 😊

This is my first post on an auspicious day (7 years of being a CA)!

I will be really, really obliged if you could tell me how you found this post.

I try not to sound preachy and exclusively talk about my own experiences. Your feedback and reviews will only help me curate more relevant content.

Please email me your feedback at [email protected].

Also, I will be publishing a Part 2 to the above series soon. Please do subscribe to my newsletter to receive them directly into your inbox.

To all those with a mission in life,

VijayBhava!

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