Nicole Nieves didn't set out to run a firm on her own terms — she got there because her health demanded it. After years of pushing through long hours in New York, she found herself repeatedly hospitalized and forced onto medical leave. What came out of that hard stop was a set of policies most accounting firms still resist: documents due 30 days before the deadline, a standing Wednesday off, and a rule that if a client doesn't respond within 48 hours, they lose their place in the queue.

In this episode, Ray and Nicole Nieves of NRN Financial Services talk through what it actually looks like to run a full-service accounting firm with a spouse, move your client base across state lines twice, and shift from hourly billing to flat rates. They get into nonprofit client challenges, managing client access to the books, and why Ray, a longtime tax  ...