DOWN TO 40 HOURS ACCELERATOR
A small-group coaching & training program
for single-owner CPAs drowning in hours
Don’t burn your firm down.
We can fix it.
Accelerator helps firm owners get their hours down without losing revenue.
Expert coaching, weekly steps, and the company of other owners make change doable.
The way into Accelerator is through Peak Freedom.
Spots open one day a month and fill in minutes, and members get first access.
Start in Peak Freedom now, and you're first in line.
You wonder if the money’s worth it.
If you’re like other CPAs, you are:
Chasing clients for documents
Buried under a stack of returns
Working weekends to keep up
Awake at 3 am wondering about that box
And it's wearing on you:
You mainline Dr. Pepper to survive tax season
You can't remember the last time you exercised
You're on blood-pressure meds now
You can’t imagine a vacation
You want to work less, but:
You can't afford the hit to your bottom line
You're the only one who knows how to do the work
You can't drop a client until they pay for last year's return
You’ve tried:
Grinding out 80-hour weeks
Dropping $120K on a senior accountant
Firing clients, raising prices, new software, ChatGPT
And you're still just as buried
None of it helped you work less.
Why not?
The traditional model is a trap.
Most accounting firms are built on a flawed idea: bill for time, do work for your clients.
As long as that's the foundation, working less is impossible: the more clients you serve, the more hours you work.
So you're stuck.
Work more to earn more.
Earn less if you work less.
It can all be fixed.
Make a series of improvements – to your pricing, your packages, and the clients you work with – and get control over your schedule.
One change at a time.
The way into Accelerator. Members get first access.
Imagine…
Feeling in control of your revenue:
Deciding who your clients are
Clear, consistent prices set up front
Paid before the work starts
New clients happy to pay those prices
Revenue you can forecast 6–12 months out
A roster of clients you actually enjoy, who:
Read your emails and get you what you need on time
Take your advice and respect your boundaries
Value your expertise – and are happy to pay for it
Making money you feel good about:
Taking home $150K, $200K, $400K – whatever number feels great
Filling your retirement buckets
Without guilt, and without caring what others think
Getting your time back:
On top of your workload
No more Sundays. No more Saturdays. No more evenings
Done at 5. Fridays off
In control of your schedule
Freedom, at the end of the day:
Work the hours you want, when you want
Doing work you enjoy, for clients you enjoy
For the money you want
Accelerator will show you the way
Accelerator is for firm owners who want their time back – less stress, less pressure, better clients, and a bigger impact, without losing revenue.
If your firm feels stuck or stalled, coaching shows you what's wrong, what to do about it, and keeps you accountable for actually doing it.
The way into Accelerator. Members get first access.
Why You’re Stuck
You can’t get there alone.
If you could have, you'd have done it by now. You know you need guidance, help, and accountability. Otherwise, you get pulled right back into client work, emails, and fires.
What got you here won't get you to 40 hours.
You said yes to everything to build the firm and keep clients happy. That's what got you here. But 40 hours means learning to say no, turn away revenue (for now), and set boundaries that stick.
How to get down to 40 hours
It's a little different for every firm, but the bones of the process are the same.
We need to know:
Your capacity, in tax season and out
How many clients you have
How many kinds of clients you have
How you're pricing
What you're selling
Once we take stock, we can figure out how to get you where you want to go.
Then I'll help you:
See how many clients you actually have room for
Decide which clients to keep
Let go of the work you don't like
Price new clients better
Reprice the legacy clients and friend-and-family freebies in a way that works for you
Disengage ill-fitting clients at a pace that feels doable
It’s simple.
There’s no need to burn your firm down.
Accelerator is designed to be doable.
In the time you already have: two hours per week.
We keep it simple and take small steps every week.
You make progress.
And after three months, you'll be amazed at how far you've come.
What it is & how it works
24/7 community on a platform called Circle
24/7 access to the entire video library, everything I teach on the podcast and more, at your own pace
Weekly live coaching, Tuesdays at 11am MT, hosted by me twice a month and by an Accelerator graduate twice a month
Private podcast: every live coaching session recorded and posted the same day
Optional weekly 30-minute private mindset coaching, so you can think more clearly
Small groups, max 12: big enough for multiple voices, small enough that you get our attention and focus
Weekly bite-sized homework to keep you moving and accountable
Time commitment: plan on 2 to 4 hours a week
Pricing Details
Accelerator is $995 per month.
The initial investment is $2,985 over three months.
The 3-month minimum exists because it's the shortest time it takes to create real change and build momentum.
After three months, you can continue month-to-month for as long as it's useful.
Many people stay. If you've hit your goals by the end of 3 months, you're free to move on.
It's not unusual to recoup your entire investment during the program.
The goal is to 10x it within a year.
The way into Accelerator. Members get first access.
100% Happy Client Guarantee
Make the investment risk-free.
If you’re unhappy inside Accelerator, tell me within two weeks, and I will refund your purchase in full.
No questions, no hassles.
What happens when I register?
You get immediate access to:
The Accelerator space
So you can start connecting with your colleagues right away.
Exclusive live weekly training and coaching sessions
For Accelerator participants only. Hosted by me every other week, and by a Down to 40 Hours Accelerator Alumni every other week.
The Down to 40 Hours Accelerator private podcast
So you can start working through the back catalog.
30-minute mindset coaching sessions
A link to schedule your 1:1 mindset coaching, so you can put private coaching to work right away.
Just imagine a 40-hour workweek.
It's hard to picture working only 40 hours a week and still making what you made at 80 or 60. But that's exactly what we do in Accelerator.
We know it’s not rocket science,
There's no single magic bullet. Getting down to 40 hours comes from solving one problem at a time and keeping it up week after week. It comes down to focus, commitment, going step by step, and sticking with a problem until it's done.
We keep you moving.
So many owners get stuck because the hard things are sometimes just. too. hard. to do. So they let fires distract them, and the hard things, usually the most important ones, go unaddressed. Do that for years, and you end up surrounded by problems that have only grown bigger. Change starts to feel daunting.
We end the overwhelm.
We take one problem at a time and break it down until the steps are short and doable.
Don’t Take My Word For It…
Here’s what other accountants, EAs, and CPAs have said about Accelerator.
(CPA Mastermind was the old name. Same program, same results.)
I thought your book would be enough, but after tax season, I knew I needed real support. That’s why I skipped Peak Freedom and went straight into Accelerator — and I’m so glad I did.
The community gave me the courage to disengage clients, raise prices, and send out new packages, even when it felt incredibly uncomfortable at first. Once I got over that initial hurdle, everything started to click.
I’ve learned how other firms are truly structured, realized I’m not a unicorn (we’re all rowing the same boat in different zip codes!), and discovered how much this profession needs to value itself more.
The mindset coaching alone has been transformative — my first session was a total word-vomit from stress, and now our conversations help me focus my entire practice.
The support inside this group is unlike anything I’ve experienced. I’m a more capable business owner — and a better technician — because of it. I joined Accelerator intending to be ‘in and out’ in three months, and it worked exactly as I hoped.
I’m deeply grateful for the friendships, the generosity, and the growth.
My tax season will go from 90 hours down to 50, and I estimate I’ll bring in $30K more in 2026.
I absolutely recommend Accelerator.
Since joining the mastermind, my revenue has increased by $37,000, and my net income has increased by $27,000. Thanks for helping me improve my business and have a clear path!
Rebecca Warnick, CPA
After our first couple of Zoom meetings, I knew that I had made the right decision for my business. And after a few weeks in the program, I realized that joining this Mastermind was one of the best decisions I had EVER made for my business in its 13 years of existence.
I’ve achieved way more than I let myself hope for. We recently purchased a new trailer (as I’m making more $$$ in less hours) with dreams of meandering down the west coast to San Diego next spring (I’ll be working only 10-20 hours a week, from anywhere with wifi, thanks to you).
The main benefits? Community, guidance on working toward business goals, practicing new skills/offerings in a safe space, and more revenue.
Not to mention, it is so well organized! And there is a lot more content and help than I was expecting, that part’s great.
I like the community – everyone is so friendly and generous. It’s nice to ‘talk shop’ with other CPAs.
I created personal tax return pricing, rather than billing, including 50% increases, and that has been a positive experience with lots of signups from returning clients.
I made two years of progress in my business in four months, and revenue is UP 15%.
Before I began Mastermind, it was like I was walking in the dark, and client work would just happen whenever. Now, with the help of GC, we have “turned on all the lights” and I can quickly recognize all the ‘things’ that might happen and know how to prepare for them. I also have the confidence to choose what work I will perform and which clients remain on my roster.
Had I not found GC and right-sized my client base (and increased prices), I could have easily been working 80 hours or more for the exact same amount of money. My hours now are at 40-45 hours per week during tax season and 20-30 outside of tax season.
Getting my hours down was more important than increasing revenue, but anyway, this past year, my firm generated an additional $100K in net profit from the prior year, and I expect this to become my new baseline going forward. In addition, my margins have about doubled. I was so underpriced I had to do twice the work to get the same profit. Now, I am finding the price ceiling for the work I offer. Meanwhile, the lower-margin work is being phased out.
What’s helped me the most is the weekly group coaching. So many of us will face similar struggles, and it's beyond beneficial to have a supportive group. Maybe someone has faced this before and can offer wisdom & best practices. And the rest of the group can learn how to navigate quicker by using this knowledge.
But the biggest overall difference for me is the confidence I have gained. I understand the demand of my expertise, I understand my value as a professional, and can articulate this back to the clients.
The hardest thing was finding the time. But now I’m further down the path on not only who to work with, but how to work with them.
I got so much out of you focusing directly on my business, hearing what colleagues were doing, and knowing exactly what I was going to accomplish.
Side benefit? I’m pretty decent in Squarespace and took over some of my website copy/marketing and like it better than relying on a 3rd party provider to do all that. Which I know isn’t delegating, but it works for me.
I’d recommend Mastermind to anyone who is struggling with lots of low-paying clients and trying to figure out how to reposition into something smaller, tighter, ‘nichier’, higher-fee.
Thank you for everything!
Because I do primarily stock option tax planning, I wasn’t sure whether my business would fit in the dynamics of the group. Happy to realize that that piece was irrelevant, and that there are plenty of issues and topics that span across the board (whether someone is doing tax or accounting or what not is secondary).
I appreciated the set office hours where members of the cohort get online. Many times just hearing about other people’s problems allow me to reflect on my own practice and how I can approach things to improve mine, and that there are different ways of doing things besides what we’ve been accustomed to doing.
I also needed the accountability. Even if life is busy you still make time for this. I needed the community– a group super friendly accountants all trying to move towards their goal. Seeing and hearing from others that my problems are not just “my problems” really resonated with me.
It may seem like a lot of money up front, but the improvements once implemented you should be able to recoup your investment pretty quickly.
I would recommend CPA Mastermind to CPAs who are serious about making changes to their practice and is willing to make the investment in time (and money). Because if you’re just toying around with the idea, a lot of the work that you do in this program is going to challenge a lot of personal beliefs and you need to be open to doing things a different way.
If nothing else, reach out to Geraldine and have a conversation. You owe it to yourself to see if there’s something better out there.
Committing to the initial investment was the biggest obstacle. By having a conversation with you, it gave me the courage to take the leap. I avoided a ton of mistakes I would've otherwise made. The structure provides me with a clear path and accountability checks so I stay focused. I likely would still be spinning my wheels if not for going through CPA Mastermind.
I enjoy the candid feedback from you. Whenever I have a conversation with you, I feel like I am leveling up. The same could be said about the life coaching sessions. I wanted to continue to have accountability and have a space to bounce ideas off of you and avoid getting stuck.
Whether you're just starting or years into the profession, the amount of clarity you get through the program is second to none. I feel so much more clear about who I want to serve, and how I want to serve them having gone through the program.
I am extremely grateful I came across you on LinkedIn and made the commitment when I did. I was getting by in business but was losing the passion to show up for my clients and that has completely changed. I feel confident in the direction my business is going and excited about the clients on my roster.”
Heck Yes! I recommend CPA Mastermind to anyone I know in a similar situation as I am at in my business. The main reason is the very specific niche that Geraldine works with, the conversations, advice, and coaching is very very specific and that takes out the work that might otherwise fall on my plate. Rather than advice like “add a client pain point to your wording”, you get “add the struggle of getting in touch with your accountant and being left in the dark”.
Mastermind has helped me eliminate clients I don’t enjoy working on. I found a group of clients that I really connect with and it just feels “easy” to serve. I know how to talk about the services I provide from my clients pain points vs what I will be doing for them. I get accountability to actually do the stuff to move the business forward instead of always working on client things. And I get permission and encouragement to dream bigger.
I stayed for another round to keep the momentum going. I show up differently for my clients when I am getting coached in my own business. I wanted that extra support during a time that it is easier to get buried in client work.
Accelerator helped me shape my firm into a practice that aligns with how I want to work and live. Having guidance and a group of like-minded firm owners made the process feel far less lonely, and I’ve grown profit without adding hours while finally doing work I love without feeling buried in it anymore.
Peak Freedom for me has been a group of like-minded folks that truly understand both the joy and challenges that come with running your own accounting practice. A place that solicits both accountability as well as provides support and encouragement on the challenging days. It has pushed me in ways that have allowed me to reshape my firm and better position myself for the future.
I wasn’t sure if it would be worth the investment compared to the basic subscription, but I never would have gained this level of knowledge without the Accelerator.
The combined wisdom from Geraldine and the community far outweighs the trial-and-error approach, which ultimately costs time and revenue.
Since joining, my confidence has grown, my revenue is up roughly 73% (nearly $100K by year-end, which is actually more work than I want…), and I have a clear plan for my firm’s future – plus the practical know-how to keep improving for years to come.
Accelerator, in particular, offers a higher level of personalized attention and feedback. It opens your mind to what’s possible for your firm and gives you the tools to make it happen. You still have to put in the work, but the support makes all the difference.
I would recommend CPA Mastermind to any CPA on any level because you can achieve goals through a systematic approach through the mind of an engineer, you can test it with peers, and it forces/helps you first see your obstacles so that you can then overcome the obstacles.
Still have questions?
Great! I have answers:
PROGRAM FIT QUESTIONS
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It’s designed for single-owner CPAs and EAs with an existing firm, clients, staff, and systems, and a minimum of $100K in revenue. There’s no maximum, but most people in my orbit top out around $1.5M in top-line revenue.
REVENUE QUESTIONS
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Keep building until your top-line revenue exceeds $100K or $8300 average MRR.
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If you can still be nimble and make decisions reasonably quickly, earning more than $1.5M should not deter you.
GROUP & SIZE QUESTIONS
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My content, expertise, and style attract CPAs and EAs who are hard-working, smart, generous, caring, and bright in both senses of the word.
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Max size = 12. Expect a mix of CPAs and EAs who just found me, and others who’ve been following my work for a while.
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YES. You belong here. Everyone belongs here. It’s tempting to think, “But I’m not like the others,” for various reasons, but I promise you that everyone else thinks that too. I think what makes you different is your secret weapon and your advantage that we need to lean into, not run away from. You belong here. The more diversity, the better.
CAN I JOIN IF QUESTIONS
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Yes. There are usually 1-2 Canadians in every round. Most say that even though there are differences, the business of being a CPA is universal.
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Yes. As long as you can make and implement decisions.
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No, sorry. Down to 40 Hours – Accelerator is for CPAs, EAs, and accountants only.
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Yes! As long as you are open to progressively transitioning away from it. There are ways to price that are better for you and your client, and in the end, you’ll be much more profitable once you learn how to price rather than bill.
NICHE QUESTIONS
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Niching can create a lot of fear and confusion. As long as you are willing to be coached and willing to decide to get more specific about who you work with, I got you. Usually we just take the next right step; we don’t do anything that’s so scary it paralyzes you.
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My role is to support you in being the happiest and most successful you can be. With that in mind, I won’t let you flail so that you can experience “figuring it out on your own.” I will be transparent about my thoughts on your niche. I will tell you if you’re headed up a tree with no fruit. But – you will always know more about your preferences, your people, and your business than I ever can. We’ll work together so that you can be confident you’re headed down a profitable niche path for you, AND you’ll feel at home with your people.
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It’s impossible to be an “expert” in your niche until you’ve been in it for a while. We will help you deepen your knowledge of your niche so that you can offer clients more valuable expertise.
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If you are committed to being the best generalist out there, that can work, but this round of Down to 40 Hours – Accelerator is not for you. Still, get on the interest list, and stay tuned for future offerings.
TIME QUESTIONS
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The more time you allocate to working on your business, the faster you will get results. Two hours a week is usually enough to see solid results; four hours a week will help you move even faster.
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The only way out of overworking is to find time to work ON your business. Working more hours usually makes the problem worse, not better.
But if you can’t make the time, then now isn’t the time—you won’t get much out of it, and other people won’t benefit from your brilliance. Consider adding your name to the interest list for a future round.
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You should still register – business and life can move forward, and vacations should be included. :)
PROGRESS QUESTIONS
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We define where you want to go, create a plan to get you there, and give you all the coaching you need so you can execute your plan. Around here, we PLAN the path to our goals, then create it rather than focus on fear and indulge in confusion about why we can’t or won’t.
Down to 40 Hours – Accelerator is designed to move obstacles out of the way so you reach your goals.
You have unlimited access to help, but you must ask for it if you need it.
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Once you’ve implemented the basics, you have options:
1. Stay in the Accelerator until you’ve stabilized your firm. It’s $995/mo for as many months as you need. Most people need about 6 - 8 months to stabilize their firms. (Want a simple rule of thumb? Stabilizing a firm takes about 2 months for every $100K of top-line revenue.)
2. Downshift to the main room of Peak Freedom for $197/mo.
3. Pause as long as you need; come back any time.
PRICE QUESTIONS
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You bet I will. I can help you decide how much to raise your prices and how to communicate price increases while protecting your cash flow and revenue.
PACKAGING QUESTIONS
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Yes. You don’t have to package everything, but packaging your services will simplify many aspects of your accounting practice.
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Yes. That’s exactly what we do around here. :)
DISENGAGING CLIENTS QUESTIONS
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Of course. We do this in a way that is respectful to your clients while managing revenue, so that you don’t feel like you’re walking a cash flow high-wire.
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You don’t have to do anything, and I will never “make” you do anything. But I will help you see the results of the different choices you could make, so you can better decide what is best for you and your accounting practice.
A big part of my role is to help you see where you are making choices to keep specific clients where you might feel like you have no choice.
Sometimes it can feel impossible to extricate yourself from certain client relationships (“But she was at my wedding!”). Still, you can, and you can do it in a way that completes the business relationship but keeps the personal relationship intact.
And, if you want to keep a handful of pet-legacy-clients for whatever reason, I’m not going to come after you.
FINDING NEW CLIENTS QUESTIONS
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Finding new clients is not the focus of Down to 40 Hours – Accelerator. However, the work we do inside the Accelerator includes clarifying your Ideal Client Profile, what you sell them, and how you help them.
Doing this work frequently results in new good-fit clients finding their way to you.
BUT WILL IT WORK FOR ME?
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If you have a firm, it’s subject to the same business laws of gravity, just like everyone else's. I have yet to work with a CPA whose firm we couldn't fix. I beg you to try me. Bring me your unsolvable problems.
WEBSITE QUESTIONS
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After you’ve stabilized your firm, yes. While you don’t have to create a new website if you don’t want to, most of my clients find that freshening their website up-levels their presence, clarifies their offerings, and brings in higher-quality business.
If you want to create a whole new website, I can help you navigate the process – I know website-making is not your jam.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
I can answer logistical questions, help you make a clear choice or help you determine whether Accelerator is the right thing for you, and more.
If you didn’t see the answer to your question above, you can email me at gc@geraldinecarter.com with “Down to 40 Hours – Accelerator” in the Subject line. I will get back to you by the end of the week.
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