Work for me is a means to an end: a healthy, happy family; financial stability; helping others be successful; building something to be proud of; mentoring family, close business associates and clients (when and where I can so as to not be meddling); living and loving life to the fullest extent possible in the short time we are all given.
I was lucky enough to marry above me. Pat, my lovely wife of 41 years, is my best business partner and closest friend. We grew up together in Emmett, Idaho. She was my sister’s best friend.
We come from humble beginnings. Our grandfathers were farmers. My father worked his way up from a sorter on the green chain to the superintendent of the Boise Cascade sawmill in Emmett. Pat’s father was salesman for many businesses who became the owner of the Buick dealership in Emmett. We know the values of hard work and family.
After graduating from Boise State University in 1971, I worked for the Internal Revenue Service to gain specialized tax knowledge. I then became a CPA to help small business owners like you deal with the IRS and other business financial issues facing small business every single day. To me, small businesses are the engine that runs our whole country. The experience I gained over 40 years from managing my own CPA firm, Cooper Norman, and several other small business interests helps me to understand issues facing your business and to make both practical and technical recommendations for the solutions or course corrections needed.
My goals mirror those of my clients: to make a comfortable living with some independence and financial security over the long-term; to enjoy time with my family – especially the grandchildren; and to enjoy hobbies like golfing, fly fishing and traveling with Pat. When we travel, we especially enjoy visiting professional baseball parks. We have been to 15, so far.
My Keys to Success:
- Continually improve communications skills. Look for and take opportunities to speak publically. Perpetually look for tools and training to become better at writing. The most successful business people I know are great communicators.
- Set high expectations. Be slightly uncomfortable by doing something you did not think you could do. It produces a great adrenalin rush and feelings of self-accomplishment. The most successful athletes and business owners push themselves beyond self-imposed limits on performance. It is not easy. It takes uncompromising courage and endurance. There is no shortcut to sustainable success. I especially enjoy pushing children, grandchildren, my close business associates and clients out of their comfort zones.
- Be positive. The power of positive thinking cannot be overstated. If you think you can’t, then you can’t. Negative thinking can become a paradigm that causes you to miss a great opportunity. Not one of the successful clients I have known have a negative perspective.
- Use leverage. What multiple people working together as a team can accomplish is greater than the sum of what each can accomplished as individuals added together. Leveraging you time with other people is like leveraging your invested capital with debt. People leverage can happen by hiring great employees or by partnering with great partners. The most successful small business owners are great team builders.
- It’s OK to be WEIRD! Shoot the Ducks! Sometimes people are afraid to be different. My successful business clients are very unusual people, definitely different from average folk, and perhaps considered a little weird by comparison. Similarly, I am a little weird. Ducks are those time wasters who stand around the water cooler quacking about a lot of unimportant stuff, distracting attention from what is important for team success. Successful business leaders publicly celebrate those weird people around them who standout and weed out the ducks.
- Hiring the best people does not cost you more, it makes you more. The best people pay for themselves and hold that as a core principle of their employment contract. The best people most often quit if they believe they are not able to produce value for their employer that exceeds their cost. Finding the best people is not easy. Develop practices to identify, publically recognize, reward and retain exceptional people. It will be an exceptional person that one day writes the check to buy your interest in your business. The most successful small business owners hire people they believe to be smart than themselves.
- You are never too old to learn new tricks. The world is changing every day at warp speed. Reading quality, fact oriented news publications on a daily basis is necessary to keep up and to beat competition who likely have their heads buried. Belong to networks and organizations that share your passion for relevant knowledge. Most healthy older persons are perpetual learners.
- Believe passionately in something. More than that. Believe passionately in many things. Waking up to a cause or causes that you passionately believe in makes every day more fun and worthwhile.
My Perpetual Daily Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
If you have similar values and wish to chat about your business needs, please call or e-mail me, today. Phone 208-899-4666. E-mail: dave@davecooper.com.
My Certifications
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Idaho and Nevada
- Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA)
My Business Board Member Affiliations
- Pets Best Insurance – a current member of the Board of Directors of this national pet health insurance agency. This company is the third largest pet insurer in the nation.
- IES, LLC – a current member of the Board of Directors of this regional temporary employment agency.
- Cooper Norman – a former member of the Policy Committee and the Managing Member of this regional public accounting firm with three officers in Idaho.
- Crossroads of Idaho, Inc. – a former member of the Board of Directors and CEO of this franchised 24/7 PETRO truck stop business near Twin Falls, Idaho
- Idaho Housing and Finance Association – a former member of the Board of Commissioners and Board Chairman of this quasi-governmental, not-for-profit company that provides more than $200M per year in bond financed home mortgages for low income Idaho residents and managed Idaho’s multi-family tax credit program
My Professional Association Memberships
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) – a current member
- Idaho Society of Certified Public Accountants (ISCPA) – a current member
- National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) – a current member
- Standards Committee – a current member and prior Committee Chairman
- Ambassador – a current member
- CPA Associates International (CPAAI) – a former member of the Board of Directors
My Civic Board Affiliations
- Idaho Housing Foundation – current member of the Board of Directors
- Boise State University College of Business and Economics Advisory Board – current member of the Board and Treasurer
- College of Southern Idaho Foundation – form member of the Board of Directors and President