Partners have each other. Sole practitioners have themselves. And, sometimes, they also involve their domestic partner, a close friend or family member.
Accountants who were previously in partnership often feel a little isolated when they start their own firm. But equally they often feel a strange sense of relief that what seemed like endless pointless meetings have stopped and their email inbox is no longer full of interminable internal emails (especially those where they’ve been cc’d for no good reason).
I remember those feelings.
Most accountants who start their own firms anticipate they will have the freedom to make their own decisions. What catches many people off guard, however, is something slightly different: the absence of friction. You can just get on and do whatever you want without having to justify it to anyone else.
Internal politics disappears. You no longer need to persuade colleagues who see the world differently. No one gets to build on or steal your ideas. Good ideas no longer get diluted through compromise until they become something that everyone can tolerate but nobody feels strongly about.
When good ideas get diluted
In a partnership you often have to explain your thinking repeatedly. Even when colleagues are supportive, there is still discussion, negotiation and sometimes resistance. Eventually a decision emerges, although it may not look much like the original idea that sparked the conversation.
That used to frustrate me enormously.
Working for yourself removes much of that tension. Decisions happen faster. Direction can change quickly. If you want to try something new, you simply try it.
There is no committee meeting required first.
The flip side of independence
Yet the same freedom also introduces a quieter challenge that many accountants do not anticipate.
Most sole practitioners no longer have a built-in sounding board. There is no colleague across the room or the corridor to test an idea with. Nobody to question an assumption or gently point out that something may not be quite as clever as it sounded in your own head.
You carry the weight alone, including the exciting parts.
Some practitioners genuinely thrive on that level of independence. Others quietly miss the conversations that used to happen naturally within a partnership. Not the formal meetings, but the informal moments when an idea could be explored before anyone committed to it.
That absence can take time to recognise, and even longer to admit.
Why I joined mastermind groups
Soon after becoming self-employed in 2006 I joined a mastermind group with other consultants and business owners who were running their own practices. We met regularly, talked openly about the challenges we were facing, and encouraged each other to pursue ideas that might otherwise have stayed in the “maybe one day” category.
Apparently I spent months talking about creating the Tax Advice Network.
Eventually the group suggested that I either make it happen or stop talking about it. That gentle push proved rather helpful.
Years later I joined another mastermind group, this time with professional speakers. Our areas of expertise were completely different, but the dynamic was remarkably similar. Encouragement when it was needed, challenge when it was appropriate, and a shared understanding of what it means to run your own business and to be responsible for generating one’s own clients.
Not everyone needs a mastermind
I remain a strong advocate for mastermind groups. They can be extraordinarily valuable.
The difficulty is that good ones require a serious investment of time and energy. Not every sole practitioner wants something quite that structured or intense.
In practice, many sole practitioner accountants value something simpler.
Occasional conversations. Shared perspective. The reassurance that other people understand the pressures of running a small practice.
Finding the right sounding board
For some accountants that comes from informal peer networks. Others find it through communities like the Sole Practice Club, where practitioners exchange ideas and remind each other they are not the only ones navigating these challenges.
Other accountants, want something different and choose to work with me 1-2-1.
I don’t claim to be their business coach. And I’m not a management consultant.
They tends to see me more as a non-executive mentor; an independent supportive voice who understands the realities of running a practice and can help sense-check the bigger decisions they face.
Interestingly, quite a few of the accountants I have interviewed on the podcast have said something similar about their own journey.
The move from partner to sole practitioner was harder than they expected.
Those who were never partners often seem to have found the transition to running their own firm easier. Perhaps because they never became used to having colleagues inside the decision-making process.
Independence doesn’t mean isolation
The freedom of working for yourself is real. It can be energising and deeply satisfying.
But many sole practitioner accountants discover, sooner or later, that independence and isolation can be lonely. Their self confidence drops as they struggle to prioritise fresh opportunities and prevent the worst challenges.
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can have is simply a thoughtful conversation with someone who understands the landscape and is prepared to challenge your thinking when necessary.
If you are running your practice alone (even if you have staff) and occasionally wish you had a sounding board, that is entirely normal.
The question is simply where you choose to find it.
