The business model
The Fractional CFO Formula Book
Value$27
My whole business model in one read. You'll know:
- Why a few good clients beat thirty small ones
- How to price your work
- How your first client leads to your second and third
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$1,423$299
For accountants ready to build their own practice
Start your own specialized CFO practice without leaving your current job
The Specialized CFO Blueprint gives accountants the full plan, from how the business works to landing your first high-paying client, with the AI tools to launch your brand. It takes about an hour a day.
Black Friday price ends in--d--h--m--s
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30-day money-back guarantee
“Real conversations with potential clients right out the gate and that leads to clients!” Linette C, on Trustpilot
As featured inForbesThe Wall Street JournalBloombergAccounting Today
The Specialized CFO Blueprint
Starting a practice comes down to three things: a clear model for what you're building, marketing that makes owners take you seriously, and knowing where to find them and what to say. You get all three, built to work together in about an hour a day.
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30-day money-back guarantee
Your brand
AI Brand Launch Toolkit
Sold alone$997
Seven custom-built AI assistants that position the experience you already have for cannabis owners. Answer a few questions and they write your:
- Professional bio
- LinkedIn profile
- Website copy
- Social posts and outreach
What used to take a weekend takes an evening, with four workshop videos to walk you through it.
Getting clients
How To Land Your First High-Paying Client
Sold alone$399
The course. The client acquisition system members of the full program use, built for someone with a day job. You'll know:
- Where the owners are in your state, and which events are worth your time
- How to find the 5 to 10 owners you're already one connection away from
- How to start LinkedIn conversations with CEOs that turn into paid work, without pitching
- What to say when they ask what you do
- How to turn a first conversation into a paid first project
Total value$27 + $997 + $399 = $1,423
Black Friday price$299
You save $1,124 (80% OFF)
Good at your job, but still uneasy about your position
I talk to accountants every week. Most still have a job, they're good at it, and they're paid fine. Lately almost every one of them tells me some version of this:
“Andrew, I feel the target on my back. We lost five people in my department.”
Maybe that's you. New software or an offshore team showed up, and the work you used to own is getting split up. Nobody has said what it means for your role, and you'd rather not wait to find out.
Another job doesn't fix it. The next company is making the same moves, and you're back in the same seat, hoping the next round of cuts skips you.
So you picture something of your own: a handful of owners paying you directly for the experience you already have. Then, for most people, nothing happens. They'll start after busy season, and a year later they're in the same job, a little more worried.
Andrew Hunzicker, CPA
Founder of DOPE CFO and AICPA Subject Matter Expert
People who started where you are
Kept his corporate job until his retainers out-earned his salary
Ray worked in internal controls in Wisconsin, with no cannabis market anywhere nearby. He started while employed, went to industry events and landed clients right away. Five years later, the leads come to him.
A 10-hour starter project that became a much bigger engagement
Right after she joined, she met the owner of an edibles company doing a few million a year. She started with a bank of 10 hours, spotted where tighter inventory tracking could save them real money, and the work grew from there.
Talking to owners in her first two weeks, and a first client soon after
Using our client acquisition system, Linette was talking with dispensary owners and growers every week. Two months in, she signed her first engagement, a seven-month project. Her second client, a grower in another state, brought her in for an assessment and wants her quote for monthly CFO work next. She's on track to cross six figures by year end from those two clients.
Results vary. These are individual member experiences and depend on effort, background and market.
Cannabis owners need you
I've spent 15 years in this industry. It isn't for everyone, and I'm not here to change anyone's mind. If you're open to it, here's why I think it's one of the best places for an accountant to build a practice right now.
Most have never had a CFO
Most cannabis companies are run by people who are great at growing, making or selling a product, with a bookkeeper and a shoebox of questions about taxes, cash, inventory and banking. They need a CFO, and most have never had one.
It's real CFO work
Cost accounting, cash forecasting, tax planning and getting a company ready for a lender or a buyer. Work you're already good at, for an owner who will actually listen.
It's growing up fast
In April, state-licensed medical cannabis moved to Schedule III, and adult-use is still working its way through. Over the next 12 to 18 months I expect new capital, new startups and a wave of mergers, and every one of those needs clean books.
Support keeps growing
Eight out of ten Americans want access to medical cannabis. I use a tincture for my arthritis, and my wife used it when she had cancer. Chances are someone in your family uses it for something.
What you'd actually do as a fractional CFO
You're the owner's financial right hand, on a monthly retainer. Most members do this for a handful of clients, from wherever they want to work.
Cash forecasting
Help owners see what’s coming and keep cash available.
Books & cost accounting
Get the numbers right and the books ready for tax filing.
Proactive tax planning
Plan with the owner before year-end surprises.
Funding & exit readiness
Prepare for a loan, an investor, or a sale.
Big-picture decisions
Guide the next location, product line, or key hire.
What stops most accountants from starting
Usually it's a few questions nobody has answered for them. Where would I even find owners who need me, and what would I say to them? How do I look like a real firm when it's just me? And when would I do any of this with a full-time job?
Left unanswered, those questions turn into beliefs that sound reasonable and keep good accountants in the same job for years. These are the four I hear most.
"I'd have to quit my job first."
You don't, and starting while you're employed is the better way. With a paycheck coming in, you can turn down the wrong client and wait for the right one. Land that client first, then decide about the job.
"I need to become an industry expert before anyone will hire me."
You don't need the deep-dive. Most of the companies you'd serve just have a bookkeeper. On day one, knowing nothing about their industry, you already bring more than that. The industry side you'll pick up as you go.
"I need my business set up and a marketing system running first."
Logos don't get you clients. Most people spend months on an LLC, a website and a sales funnel before they've talked to a single owner. Your first client comes from conversations, and the AI toolkit gets your bio and LinkedIn ready in an evening, so you can start having them this week. The LLC and the website can wait until you have a client to pay for them.
"I'd need a lot of clients to make this work."
You need one good client to change your life. That's it, one. And that's exactly why we focus on cannabis. A company doing a few million a year in this industry needs CFO-level help, and it can pay you what your job pays you.
Is this for you?
Scroll through the list. If all four sound like you, this was built for you.
0of 4 sound like you
Keep scrolling
- You're an accountant, CPA, EA, controller or CFO, and you still have a job
- You're open to working with cannabis businesses
- You want to land one client before you decide anything bigger
- You can give it about an hour a day
This isn't for you if
- You're looking for guaranteed results before you start
- You want someone else to find clients for you. You'll be the one having the conversations. This shows you how.
Everything you need to start your practice
DOPE CFOThe Specialized CFO BlueprintBlack Friday offer
The Fractional CFO Formula Book$27.00
AI Brand Launch Toolkit$997.00
How To Land Your First High-Paying Client$399.00
Subtotal$1,423.00
Black Friday discount−$1,124.00
Total$299.00
One payment. Instant access.
30-day money-back guarantee.
Price ends in--d--h--m--s
Get the Blueprint 80% OFF
Secure checkout. Black Friday price ends Monday, November 30 at 11:59 pm PT. Join the full DOPE CFO program by December 31 and your $299 counts toward it.
Complete your order
The First Client System, $299
One payment. Instant access to all three parts of the system.
What happens next
Right after checkout you'll get a login to your DOPE CFO library with all three inside. Start with the course. It gives you a clear plan for your next 30 days.
30-day money-back guarantee
If it isn't right for you, email us within 30 days and we'll refund the full $299.
Your $299 counts toward the full program
Join the full DOPE CFO program by December 31 and your $299 counts toward it.
Questions before you buy? Email [email protected].
Questions
Do I have to quit my job?
No. The whole system is built around keeping it while you land your first client. Plenty of members keep it quiet at work until they're ready.
What if it's not for me?
You're covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If it isn't right for you, email us within 30 days of buying and we'll refund the full $299.
How much time does it take?
About an hour a day. Most of that goes to meeting people and following up, which is where the first client comes from.
I don't know anything about cannabis. Is that a problem?
No. You need the high level picture, and the course gives you that. When I started at PwC I didn't know everything either, because somebody behind me did know the answer. That's what the full program's network is for, when you get there.
My state isn't legal. Can I still do this?
Yes. Your first client is more than likely not in your home state. We have more members in Texas than anywhere else, and Ray built his practice from Wisconsin.
What certifications do I need?
None. There's no cannabis certification, and you don't need a CPA license for CFO work. Our members are enrolled agents, degreed accountants, controllers, CFOs and MBAs, and maybe 70 or 80 of about 400 are CPAs. Owners care whether you can fix their numbers.
I hate selling. Will I have to pitch people?
You only need a handful of clients, so there's no funnel and no cold pitching. You meet owners, ask about their business, and at some point they ask what you do. You tell them you run a cannabis accounting, tax and CFO firm. That's the pitch.
How do I get access?
Right after checkout you'll get a login to your DOPE CFO library with all three inside.
I already pay for ChatGPT or Gemini. Do I need Claude?
The assistants are built for Claude, and they also work in ChatGPT or Gemini, so you can use the one you already have.
Why cannabis?
The owners need financial help, most don't have a CFO, and the work is real CFO work at real fees. It's also one of the easiest industries to get into: there are organizations and events in almost every city, and owners love to talk about their business.
Is this the full DOPE CFO program?
No, this is the first step. The full program is for when you're ready to build the firm, with coaching, the network and the systems to serve clients at a CFO level. If you join by December 31, the $299 you paid counts as credit toward it. You can book a call with my team any time.
You don't need to quit anything to find out if this works for you
Give it about an hour a day, meet some owners, and land one client. The Specialized CFO Blueprint is $299 until Monday, November 30 at 11:59 pm PT.
Price ends in--d--h--m--s
Get the Blueprint 80% OFF
30-day money-back guarantee
Andrew Hunzicker, CPA
Founder, DOPE CFO