How Romano & Associates
Built the Operational Capacity to Serve 1,500+ Clients

With a fully integrated administrative team, the firm scaled its client base, strengthened service delivery, and protected employee wellbeing – without operational strain.

Romano & Associates at a Glance:

Key Outcomes:

Growth Demands More Than Expertise – It Requires Infrastructure

In 2021, as Romano & Associates expanded, leadership recognized a reality that many professional service firms encounter too late: growth introduces operational complexity.

Behind every client relationship sits a web of scheduling, workflow routing, communication, documentation, and internal coordination. Without the right support structure, even highly skilled professionals can become buried in administrative work.

Founder Joe Romano saw the pressure building firsthand.

The firm was handling hundreds of communications daily, and leadership bandwidth was increasingly stretched.

Rather than waiting for service levels or culture to suffer, Romano made a deliberate move: invest in operational capacity early.

Moving Past the Founder Bottleneck

Like many entrepreneurs, Romano initially carried more than he should. As he shared on The New Talent Playbook Podcast: “Prior to that I had just a big mental hangup that I was doing it all and I couldn't delegate.” Breaking that mindset became a turning point.

The first WorkBetterNow Certified Professional added by Romano & Associates was an Executive Assistant, Stephany, a decision that quickly proved its value.

Today, WorkBetterNow Certified Professionals™ support multiple operational layers within the business.

Stephany is still on the team, and they have since added a Project Administrator, Accounting Assistant, and Administrative Assistant – all from WorkBetterNow. These support roles have enabled leadership and technical experts to remain focused on high-value work.

True Integration – Not Outsourcing 

For Romano, success depended on more than task completion. It required genuine team alignment.

The WBN Certified Professionals on his team assist with email management, scheduling, workflow direction, and internal coordination – roles that directly influence both employee productivity and client experience. Joe shares:

“We consider your (WBN) people our people because they work with us 40 hours a week. Overall, they're a huge part of the firm… and they fit it perfectly. We're grateful – so incredibly grateful.”

This level of integration helped transform administrative support from a convenience into a competitive advantage.

Operational Leverage That Strengthened Both Team and Client Experience 

Heavy workloads have long been accepted as part of the accounting profession. Romano saw them differently: as a risk to both performance and culture.

By expanding administrative support, the firm redistributed routine coordination and workflow management, allowing specialists to remain focused on high-value client work. 

“Your team has been such an integral part of helping us be able to do more and handle more and not work… 80 hours? That's a thing of the past.”

This shift helped Romano scale operationally without scaling employee strain. Service improved alongside efficiency. Response times dropped from as long as a week to just one or two days, while client attrition fell below 1% – reinforcing trust at a critical stage of growth.  

Behind the scenes, stronger workflow ownership ensured requests were routed quickly, expectations were tracked, and little fell through the cracks. 

From Hesitation to Strategic Expansion 

Romano initially approached offshore talent with caution after prior experiences created friction through communication barriers, time zone gaps, and inconsistent quality.

WorkBetterNow’s high-performing nearshore talent delivered a markedly different experience – one centered on alignment, reliability, and talent capable of integrating directly into the firm’s operations.

What began with a single hire evolved into a multi-role administrative function supporting several layers of the business.

“We started with one. We have four, and I think we're going to go with more… your team has been integral in helping us grow.”  

A Firm Built to Support Continued Growth 

Today, the impact of that strategy is visible across the organization. Managers operate with greater focus, internal coordination is more structured, and leadership no longer carries the administrative weight alone. 

For the first time, Romano says the firm is operating with its strongest team to date,  supported by infrastructure designed to grow alongside the business.  

Office Manager Tami Baska has seen the integration firsthand: 

“We feel as they are 100% part of our firm like any other staff we hire directly...We are thrilled to have this partnership and look forward to working together for many years to come.”

Building Capacity Before It Becomes a Constraint 

Romano & Associates didn’t wait for operational strain to force change. By investing early in administrative infrastructure, the firm positioned itself to support a rapidly expanding client base while maintaining the service standards that define its reputation. 

Ready to Scale with Confidence? 

Romano & Associates’ experience highlights a reality many growing firms eventually face: new business is only valuable when the organization has the capacity to support it. 

WorkBetterNow helps forward-thinking companies build that capacity, providing Certified Professionals™ who integrate seamlessly into existing teams and strengthen operational performance where it matters most. 

Schedule a consultation to discover how WorkBetterNow can support your next stage of growth.