Leveraging Thought Leadership | Jody Grunden | 315

Today's guest is Jody Grunden, a visionary accountant with over 20 years of experience that has helped pioneer innovative changes to his industry.  Jody is the co-founder and CEO of Summit CPA Group, author of Digital Dollars and Cents. Jody takes us back to 2013 when he arrived at a conference to speak only to have a series of events go wrong that ended with him giving his presentation off the cuff while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and becoming a huge success! Since that fateful event the Summit CPA Group has undergone a lot of changes.  We discuss why they've moved to focusing on creative agencies and how thought leadership has become their only form of marketing, and how they are teaching other firms their methods. Getting your thought leadership off the ground is often time consuming and expensive.  Jody shares his experience getting things off the ground, what it took to find success, and how he got his business partner on board with his ideas. If you are looking to develop your own thought leadership or are struggling to find your audience this is a wonderful episode filled with excellent advice! Three Key Takeaways: When delivering thought leadership don't use jargon the audience might not understand.  Speak in the vernacular of your audience. Even if your thought leadership might be useful to a wide audience, find a space to become a specialist in.  Become a resource to that market so clients come to you for advice. No one will ever care more about your thought leadership than you. You have to have passion and conviction in your delivery to get clients to see you.