My two guests are Aisha Bano and Bhav Chawda, equal partners in A&B Tax Consultants, who set up in business together because they wanted greater autonomy over how best to serve their clients and they wanted to build stronger relationships.
They are driven by a desire to really get to know their clients, they want to know about your business, and they are genuinely interested in what’s going on in your business and personal life – yes from a financial perspective but also just your life too and they’re always delighted to hear about how you’re overcoming your challenges. They get that their success depends on your success – and they’re keen to learn from you too.
They also get that their clients like to know how well they’re doing too – “we’re trusting you with our business so we need to know yours is solid too.” – in that kind of a way. Over the past four years since founding A&B Tax Consultants, Aisha and Bhav have committed to meeting every single client in person, together. And, in fact, their clients have come to expect it. If you ever have the pleasure of meeting them, you’ll understand why.
I asked them to be my guests because, as you’ll notice for yourself, there’s a great energy between them and personally I love seeing in that in people who’ve set-up in business together – they really do enjoy conversation as a way of getting to know you. They’re genuine and they both talk about the importance of just being themselves. What you experience of them is exactly who they are and you know that because of their laughter, their smiles, their eye contact, their hand gestures, and the way they riff off each other.
And they really love working together!
Jump Spots
3:35 – What Aisha and Bhav do, their trade
5:10 – Desire to serve better through personal touch, better financial planning, understanding client businesses
8:46 – Deciding to set-up in business together
10:48 – Tough conversations and making decisions, seeking each other’s opinions and advice, awkward conversations are healthy
16:09 – Trusting each other to run the business when one of them is away
16:38 – Focusing on the big picture
18:31 – A good conversation feels natural, it flows, being myself
20:15 – Thriving off positive energy of each other and clients, listening, “we’re a package”
22:38 – Talking about money, an emotional and sensitive topic, looking young, building trust
26:32 – Wearing a hijab
29:43 – Learning from former bosses and from clients; understanding client needs
32:15 – Evolving services to meet our clients’ needs as they grow
33:32 – Thriving on the passion of clients; open and relaxed conversations with each other
35:52 – What clients want to know about Aisha and Bhav, and their business
37:09 – Bhav’s worst conversation with himself “What have I achieved?” – the catalyst for setting up own business
39:23 – Aisha explaining how they handle difficult conversations with clients
42:47 – Bhav’s worst conversation habit, yeah
43:59 – Aisha’s worst conversation habit, talking with her hands, empathy
45:34 – Conversation strengths: listening, laughter, building trust, smiling, eye contact, talking with your hands, energy, confidence in yourself
48:14 – Educating clients, increasing their commercial awareness
49:28 – Advice from Aisha and Bhav about having better conversations, face-to-face is key
To connect with Aisha and Bhav, visit A&B Tax Consultants.
Better Conversations with Sehaam Cyrene
In this Podcast series, I’m wanting to capture and explore what makes for a great conversation, who has inspired our conversation style, and what bad habits we all suffer from. I do that by talking to people. There’s no judgement here – it’s just an interlude of reflection about the finer aspects of conversations as it stands for each of us.
