Pros
It's incredibly rare to find a place that cares for your personal growth and wellbeing just as much as they do the professional. As someone who deeply values that ratio, I’ve been so fortunate to experience this at PracticeCFO.
The professional benefits are solid. The pay is great, we get tons of PTO, our hybrid work schedule is flexible, the latest and greatest of tech and operating systems are routinely implemented and everybody is gifted at what they do. Office life is fun with free lunches, snacks, coffee, music, hiking trails and even a mini gym. (I heard we may be getting a massage chair soon too, lol) The company goes above and beyond in making sure I have everything I need to work comfortably. I know my contributions are valued and appreciated, and I know that if I ever get stuck on anything, somebody is always willing to help.
The most important part for me though is the culture and comradery. Literally none of the above would matter if I didn’t like my colleagues or didn’t feel welcomed within the work family. Everybody genuinely cares and looks out for one another. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve fallen out of our chairs laughing over an inside joke or something hilarious that happened. We’ve sang with one another around campfires, hiked the trails of Yosemite, white water rafted, put on countless pickleball and cornhole tournaments, enjoyed wellness retreats, started a band (yes, really), stargazed at Half Dome…… all on company time. PCFO has cultivated so many amazing life memories for me that I still cherish to this day.
We send each other cards and gifts when there are birthdays, babies, weddings, etc. We have team bonding days often. We have a mentor program and give back to the community through both service days and a donation match program. We have people that work on opposite ends of the country in varying time zones and somehow are all still incredibly connected with one another. And as our remote base grows, we are now starting to fly out and pay for these remote folks to visit the San Diego HQ on a routine basis. This allows us to continue making those magical memories together as a full team, regardless of the distance that may be between us. And for me, this is one of the most meaningful factors in what defines a great place to work.
One of my favorite benefits is that we get stipends and PTO to cultivate our own human growth. This is meant to encourage us to go after what we are interested in personally and what we have a passion for. It has nothing to do with work or our designated roles, and entirely to do with us leaning into our own personal magic. I value so greatly that PCFO wants me to shine as an individual – not just as an employee - and to embrace my own light.
This benefit, coupled with our amazing culture, solidifies to me how deeply the people are the potion within this company.
Cons
PracticeCFO is in that stage where while we are still by definition a small business, we are rapidly growing. While this is a natural evolution in most businesses, the growing pains can be real and felt by many. Hours and days can be long, multiple hats have to be worn at times, things can get chaotic and there has to be an openness to change and adaptation. Change can be challenging at times, and it’s not always in ways that please everybody. But at the end of the day, I would much rather help take on the growing pains of a small company where I know I am also valued and deeply appreciated, than be a part of a larger corporate environment where while that company growth may already be there, I am just another cog in the machine. We’re all working towards the collective good and growth of the company and the team. It may be challenging at points, but I have found that it’s always worth it.
