Building Better Businesses Starts with Better Advisory Leadership

Save the Date: CE Savvy Business Builder Summit, March 25, 2026 | Virtual | 8:15 AM – 1:30 PM CT. Are you growing your practice?  Perhaps you are helping your clients grow their businesses better?  Small business owners face relentless pressure - from rising costs and labour challenges to tax complexity, succession uncertainty, digital disruption and for some, quite simply the basics: how to lead, how to sell, and how to make decisions based on their financial statements. If this resonates, read on about a unique business education program geared at small to medium sized business owners and a new live virtual summit.

The DMA – Small Business Services Specialist™   This program is for the professionals including tax practitioners, accountants, consultants, and financial advisors, who are scaling their own businesses and wishing to provide business-building leadership to help with their clients’ long-term success.

The DMA – Small Business Services Specialist™ Designation equips professionals with the practical skills needed to help business owners work on their businesses, not just in them. The program focuses on building scalable, sustainable enterprises supported by sound planning, governance, and risk management

Designed for business owners, entrepreneurs, accounting and tax professionals, and business consultants, the program delivers marketable, immediately applicable skills through structured online study, case-based learning, and professional certification.

Participants develop expertise across two critical levels:

Level 1: Core Professional Skills

• Leading teams and building productive business cultures
• Creating business plans aligned to income, profit, and long-term growth
• Scaling operations with the right management and operational frameworks

Level 2: Mastery and Specialization

• Understanding contracts and identifying legal risk
• Implementing privacy principles that protect credibility and reputation
• Guiding succession planning for owners, successors, and employees

Together, these competencies position professionals to support business owners through growth, transition, and continuity—well beyond year-to-year compliance work .

As one graduate notes:

“My objectives were definitely met. I particularly appreciated the detail of walking through the process using the Succession Map tool offered with this course.”
— Delores M., SK

Why This Matters Now

Advisory professionals are increasingly expected to deliver higher levels of value while managing growing operational complexity in their own practices. Many firms lack formal business plans, consistent client development processes, and clear financial benchmarks—yet are advising clients on exactly those issues.

The DMA – Small Business Management Specialist™ addresses this gap by strengthening both client advisory capability and internal practice leadership, helping professionals build confidence, structure, and scalability in their own businesses as well.

Save the Date: CE Savvy Business Builder Summit March 25, 2026 | Virtual | 8:15 AM – 1:30 PM CT

Build Your Business! Learn to shift your mindset from “doing” to “building” a high-growth financial services practice.  The secret?  Strategy, process and focus on amplifying your market reach, leveraging both your team and technology to invigorate your advisory practice. In just 5 hours you will gain confidence, amplify our business acumen and envision your new-found freedom, learning with a national audience of like-minded entrepreneurs and our world class financial educators, and experienced practice management coaches.

Key focus areas include:

• Strategic business planning that actually works
• Communicating a clear and compelling value proposition
• Building and leading high-performing advisory teams
• Understanding the financial metrics that drive profitability
• Creating consistent new-client development processes

Registration details coming soon!

One Integrated Solution for Business Advisors

Together, the DMA – Small Business Services Specialist™ designation and the CE Savvy Business Builder Summit form a practical, career-building pathway:

• The DMA program provides depth, structure, and certification
• The Business Builder Summit delivers applied learning, discussion, and immediate implementation

For professionals supporting small business owners, or building their own advisory firm, this integrated approach delivers the skills, confidence, and frameworks needed to grow sustainable businesses in a rapidly changing environment.

Register now for the program here: DMA – Small Business Services Specialist