Nathan Liao is the founder of CMA Exam Academy, a top Certified Management Accountant exam review program. As a CMA and CMA coach, Nathan mentors accounting and finance professionals in over 80 countries to earn their CMA certification in as little as 8 months. The unique review framework in CMA Exam Academy has proven to be the key to his students’ outstanding success in attaining their dream of earning the Certified Management Accountant certification.
What is CMA Exam Academy all about?
CMA Exam Academy is a top Certified Management Accountant exam review program. As a CMA and CMA coach, I mentor candidates in my online CMA Exam Academy program through video lectures and weekly accountability follow-ups and check-ins. This has proven to be the key to our students’ outstanding success in attaining their dream of earning the Certified Management Accountant certification.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
After passing my Certified Management Accountant exam, I created a blog as a hobby that discussed the CMA test and provided tips and strategies to pass it. As my audience grew, requests to launch an exam review program kept coming in from my audience. People wanted me to teach them the subject matter, so I launched CMA Exam Academy.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
In order to be a successful business owner, it is important to be skilled in sales and marketing. This will help you outshine your competitors and reach greater levels of success. You must also have financial literacy so that you can balance your business’s budget and maximize your bottom line. On top of this, you must be a visionary, have innovation and creativity, and have the ability to stomach risk.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
The CMA is a global certification that so many people strive for. We currently have customers in 80 countries and will continue to expand into other countries to grow our reach. We want to keep being the go-to company that people turn to to help them obtain their CMA accreditation.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
CMA Exam Academy was fully remote from the very start, so our work style was not affected when the lockdowns happened. We could still run the business as usual, which was a huge blessing during such a difficult time for everyone. By having work remain ‘normal’ during the lockdowns, it gave my team and me a sense of normalcy to a certain degree. This helped us cope with what was happening around us.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
We put a face to an otherwise “faceless” industry. Buying test prep programs from big corporations is an outdated strategy. People want to do business with people they know, like, and trust. By putting myself front and center, my customers know whom they are doing business with. They get to know me and by extension my brand/business before they decide to study in my program.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
Launching a new website and domain for the test prep company. If I had to do it all over again, I would have launched it using my existing domain and website. I thought I had to have a different name for my test prep program, but I really didn’t in retrospect. The cost of running two separate domains/operations could’ve been avoided.
Relying on a supplier for my study material. I partnered with one of the biggest companies in my space to provide study material to my students. However, when my business took off, I was cut off because I had become a direct competitor of theirs. The lesson learned is that self-reliance is important in business, and the ability to provide your customers with in-house products is a better play in the long run.
Not hiring fast enough. As a start-up, I was slow at making my first hire. I ran everything myself for too long. If I had hired someone to help sooner, I would’ve been able to grow the company at a faster rate. The lesson I learned in terms of hiring is to not wait until it feels like you’re burning out. Instead, hire preemptively for key positions. The business will grow faster.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
To drive traffic to my website, I primarily focus on Search Engine Optimization or SEO. It’s a long-term strategy but very effective when it gains momentum.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
I’ve had many big challenges throughout the years. The most recent one was the need to develop a custom software solution for my students to take practice exams in. It was an area outside of my expertise and seemed like such a big project to tackle. I asked my trusted business network and was referred to a fantastic developer who helped me build it from scratch.
What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?
I launched a college textbook exchange marketplace online back in 2009. I invested all the money I had, which wasn’t much at the time but was all I had. The website flopped and I decided to close it after a year. I took it as my first real-world MBA experience in learning how to launch an online business. The experience served me well in subsequent years in other successful online ventures.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I’m learning more about the impact AI, machine learning, and cryptocurrencies will have in the accounting/finance field. It’s important because I’d like to stay current and help my students upskill at the same time to confront the challenges of tomorrow.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
I would have not made my top three mistakes in my business journey: launching a new website and domain for the test prep company, relying on a supplier for my study material, and not hiring fast enough. I would have definitely launched CMA Exam Academy using my existing domain and website and provided my students with our own in-house study material. I also would have hired for key positions long before I started burning out from doing everything myself for so long.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
- Trello by far. I have my days, weeks, months, and quarters mapped out in Trello. It’s super easy to use with their kanban card digital system. Trello keeps my team and I organized.
- Infusionsoft is a fantastic tool for customer communication and lead nurturing.
- WordPress has been great for running my test prep program. It’s easy to use and easy to customize, which allows us to deploy changes and updates rather quickly.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
My planner ritual. Every Sunday morning, I go through the wins and lessons from the week, plan out the most important tasks for the upcoming week, assign a day to each one, and execute. On weeknights, I review my planner to ensure the tasks mapped out for the following day are scheduled out. If I had to boil it down, I’d say planning is the one habit that helps me stay productive.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
- Atomic Habits by James Clear is a fantastic book to learn about how to build habits the right way. My productivity has increased tenfold thanks to this book. Building habits that last is not only rewarding from a personal level but professionally as well
- One podcast I highly recommend is Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner. This is a fantastic podcast to learn more about what’s working in online marketing — I get many of our marketing strategies from this podcast.
- An online course I recommend is the Kwik course, as it provides entrepreneurs with the ability to learn well and fast at the same time. For those who like to learn and don’t have enough time to consume it all, this course helps.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
To start an online business, I’d buy tools to help me get my message out into the world. I’d get a mic, camera, domain, email management system, a good theme for the website, and hosting. Everything else requires sweat equity at first.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
Seeing the results my students get after earning their certification. Many get a substantial raise or even a promotion at work. It can be life-changing for them, which drives me each day.
What is your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
This quote always inspires me to strive to make true, meaningful change in society and help others, whether that be with my business or with other ventures.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
Overnight success is a myth. On the contrary, building a long-lasting business takes time and consistency. Starting out with the right expectations will help you push forward when the going gets tough, which it will at times.
Another big piece of advice is to know your numbers. Review your financials on a monthly basis, not once or twice a year. Knowing how your company is doing regularly will help you course correct quicker.
Who should we interview next and why?
I think you should interview Jon Nastor from Digital Commerce. Jon is an expert at content marketing and SEO for entrepreneurs and helps businesses scale fast.
What is your definition of success?
Success is going to bed knowing you did your very best that day. You need to leave it all on the field, daily.
How do you personally overcome fear?
I’ll take action and move towards my fear. I soon realize it’s unfounded and a construct of my mind. Taking action is a great antidote to fear.
How can readers get in touch with you?
To get in touch, you can visit my website at cmaexamacademy.com. You can also find me on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.
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