10 Tips on Working More Efficiently (Part One of a Two-Part Series)

Also called “working smart,” efficient work strategies can makes any small business more profitable as owners determine how to get more done in less time. And as we are in the middle of what some would call a recession, getting more out of your work day could help you and your business fair better during difficult economic times.

In this two-week series we will discuss 10 tips on working more efficiently so that you can eliminate the unnecessary and find more time for billable hours. Here are the first five of 10 tips designed to help you work smart:

1. Clean and organize your workspace

You can waste hours looking for important documents if your office is not clean and organized. While this tip may seem like one designed to lengthen your workday rather than shorten it, you’ll find that setting aside just a few hours to tidy up your office will save you a lot of time in the long run.

And this tip is not for looks alone. You want to ensure that all your files are quick and easy to locate. So don’t just hide them in a box in the closet. Take the time to truly organize your workspace. And once you do, dedicate a few minutes at the end of each day to clean up your office so it doesn’t become unruly once again.

2. Schedule workday around your most productive times

One perk in being self-employed is that you’re not required to comply with a traditional work schedule. This can be incredibly helpful for those who may work better early in the morning or late at night. Determine the times of day you are most productive and schedule your workday around those times.

There’s no use working 9 to 5 if you find you’re most sluggish in the last afternoon. Maybe you could work from 6 to 11am and then again from 8 to 10pm. Ensure your schedule is realistic and works for you and your family. And if your schedule is highly unconventional, make sure you devise a method for contacting clients and colleagues, as their schedules are likely to be more traditional.

3. Establish a routine

Once you determine a work schedule you should develop a routine. Routines can help you work more efficiently. Determine when you will read and respond to email; abide by that routine. Determine when you will call and meet with clients; abide by that routine. While there will definitely be times you must break from this schedule, generally it can help you stay on task and reserve the bulk of your time for billable hours.

4. Hire help

Sometimes it does take money to make money. Some of your more tedious tasks could be accomplished by a part-time employee. While you may need to pay this individual minimum wage or more, think of all the time it affords you to make more money and possibly take on additional clients.

You may find your best employee lives in your home, just a hop, skip and a jump away from your office. When you hire a teenage child to work for your business, you not only equip them with valuable experience and key employability skills, but you also enjoy important tax breaks. As long as the child is under 18 he/she is not only tax deductible, but in a proprietorship they’re exempt from FICA, Unemployment, Workmen’s Compensation, and tax withholding.

5. Consider replacing some paper files with electronic files

Sometimes all that paperwork can bog you down. You may want to consider which files would be easier to manage electronically, eliminating the paper trail as well as making information much more accessible.

By following just a few tips, you could make your business function more efficiently, which will make you and your business more productive, and in turn, more profitable.

Join us next week when we will discuss the following 5 tips for working smart.

6. Perform similar tasks at same time

7. Dedicate more attention to higher-yielding clients

8. Avoid unnecessary meetings

9. Reduce the number of emails you send and receive

10. Be productive and not just busy

UAC Can Help You Work Smarter

Let Universal Accounting Center help you maximize work efficiency. In learning new skills you can enhance your service offerings and become more profitable. Our DVD 4-pack is designed to let people like you discover those skills that can enhance your practice. It includes the following DVD’s:

Introduction to the Professional Bookkeeper Program–Learn how becoming a Professional Bookkeeper will improve your accounting skills and help you in your accounting career.

Yes Sample Marketing CD-Learn how to introduce your services to a potential client. Use this either for role playing, watching it while meeting with your client or passing them out.

Start Today and Have Your Own Bookkeeping Service–Learn how to make over $80,000 per year working from home while getting more clients than you can handle. Know how to charge your client so you can afford to take that next vacation while they get such a great deal they will be telling all their friends about you.

The Art and Science of Getting Clients–Learn proven marketing strategies designed to help accountants market their skills in order to get more clients.

Each of these DVD’s can help you work smarter. Order now and save nearly $25.00 on this valuable set. For less than $20 you can be on your way to a more efficient tax preparation business-or better yet, a more efficient full-service financial practice!

One of my favorite business bloggers, Ivan Misner, talks about attending a presentation by Steve D’Annunzio where he said, “taking the hard path often makes life easier and taking the easy path often makes life harder.”

As a parent of three young children this idea resonates with me. Taking the time to parent my children well now may be harder, but it will make parenting much easier when they’re teenagers. As I thought about this I realized the idea applies to just about everything in life, including business.

What hard things could you do right now to make your future professional life easier? By putting in more time, energy and even investing a little money you could significantly lighten your future load. Not to mention, increase your future earnings in the process.

The Hard Path for an Easier Future

If you currently offer tax preparation services, your business would benefit greatly by offering additional, complementary services. The truth is doing so would probably require an investment of time, money, and energy. But in the end would it make your life easier? YES!

Expand your practice by adding small business accounting services to your menu. Chances are some of your current clients are small business owners, so you are already familiar with their unique needs. And because you already prepare their tax returns, you have an advantage over other contract accountants who may be interested in securing their business.

Your Advantage

When you are trained in small business accounting you can promise prospective clients attentive service that meets their unique accounting needs. And when you enroll in UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program you can become confident, skilled, and certified in small business accounting.

Here are just a handful of things you will learn:

Accounting Made Easy - - Course Module 1

Master the tools, procedures, and underlying principles that make up the bookkeeping processes of all businesses. Understand the core building blocks of Accounting and Bookkeeping. — 4 DVDs & Manual. See Sample

Practical Small Business Applications — Course Module 2

Apply your understanding of the core accounting principles to specific industries. You will learn to set up books from scratch, do payroll like a seasoned pro, and much more. — 4 DVDs & Manual. See Sample

Advancing your “Account-Ability” — Course Module 3

Sure ways to set up complete bookkeeping systems and manage the books for a variety of more sophisticated industries. — 4 DVDs & Manual.See Sample

Building a Successful Accounting Service — Course Module 4

Learn the steps to finding paying clients. Start and Grow an accounting practice following a proven program tested and perfected since 1979. — 4 DVDs & Manuals.See Sample

While this may seem the hard path, the truth is, this course can take less than 60 hours to complete. And the cost of enrollment is a fraction of what you’ll earn after completing the program. So choose the hard path for now, for 60 hours, and enjoy an easier, more comfortable lifestyle later. Enroll today!

References

Misner, Ivan. “The Hard Path is Easier.” Networking Now: Growing Your Business Through the Power of Relationships. Entrepreneur.com

3 Questions That Will Help You Get On-Track

In order for your services to appeal to clients, they must focus on fulfilling their needs. This requires you to be dedicated to running a client-centered practice.

You’re familiar with the importance of good customer service because you yourself patron other businesses. You know what you like, and often the offer of a one-size-fits-all solution for your unique needs isn’t appealing. The same applies to your own clients. They want to feel as if your services are customized to suit their specific needs.

How do you do that? You must regularly step away from your practice and look at it from a client’s perspective. When you do so ask yourself the following three questions:

1. How will these services enhance my business?

Your clients aren’t interested in what you do as much as they’re interested in how it will benefit their business. While you may submit a mean tax return, they would find your ability to save them money in taxes much more appealing. So as you consider your demographic, ask yourself what they really want from you. Once you are able to answer that question, you’ll be better prepared to cater your services to meet their specific needs.

2. How much will it cost me?

While we’d like to think that clients are first interested in your services and second interested in your fees, that’s not always the case. Especially when you’re working with small business owners, they want to save as much money as possible, even when it comes to their taxes. When faced with this issue it’s often most effective to present them a per-project estimate rather than an hourly fee. They imagine those hourly fees adding up much more quickly than they actually do. When they can see how much the entire project might cost them (for example, tax planning by the month or tax preparation by the form), they’re generally more subdued and can see just how valuable your services are.

3. Do you offer any complementary services?

When you’re low on time or too tired to drive around, you can probably appreciate the convenience of a super store that has everything from groceries to pharmaceuticals to clothes to hardware. Your clients are just as interested in convenience as you are, and if you asked them they would probably admit they would prefer to have all their financials managed by the same individual.

Accounting services are the perfect complement to tax services. Not only would your current clients find your new services appealing, but you would be more likely to attract more prospective clients with the convenience of a one-stop financial shop.

The Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program

When you enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program you can master small-business accounting skills in less than 60 hours. With a DVD program designed to help you review key concepts until they become second-nature, this self-paced approach enables you to complete the course on your own time. Not only that, but in addition to learning small business accounting you will also be trained in marketing those skills. After 25 years training professionals in small business accounting we know which marketing strategies are most successful in actually attracting and retaining clients.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned accountant, this course will teach you everything you need to know to service your small business clients. Here is what some of our graduates are saying:

I can’t believe the accounting knowledge covered in four short weeks. I spent years in school and did not get the same education I did this past month… - L.C. Westergard

I knew nothing of accounting before I took this class and now I feel I have a good working knowledge of bookkeeping and starting a business.- S. David

My current clients have recognized the changes and appreciate them greatly. - S. Christensen

You gave a stay-at-home-mom the knowledge and understanding of accounting needed to go out and get work that can be done from home.- I. Snow

In order to best serve your clients you must consider all their financial needs. Once you master small business accounting you can manage their books as well as their taxes. This is incredibly appealing to clients who are looking for a one-stop financial shop. Expand your business before tax season hits again. Enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program today.

6 Steps for Turning Prospective Clients into Current Clients

You’ve made a good first impression and now you want to deliver your sales pitch and seal the deal. That may be easier said than done. But when you attend to the client’s needs and follow 6 simple steps, it can happen, and quite possibly, before the bill arrives.

1. Arrive early

It’s important that you properly set up your meeting. Most sales pitches are delivered over a meal; it’s a great way to lure prospective clients from their own businesses in order to discuss your services. In that case, you should ensure the restaurant is aware that your reservation is for a business breakfast, lunch or dinner. Give them your card before the clients arrive in order to avoid that awkward moment when the bill is presented. You can also determine seating at this time, which is important when meeting with more than one prospective client.

2. Build your professional relationship

Set the meeting’s tone by getting to know the client better before jumping into your pitch. Ask questions and listen to their answers. Just about everyone likes to talk about themselves, their families, their businesses, and even the weather. Exhibit genuine interest in your client’s life and you’re sure to build a solid base for your professional relationship.

3. Time your pitch

You want to avoid interruption and ensure adequate time to deliver your pitch. If you’re having breakfast, you don’t have much time and will want to start fairly soon. Lunch appointments are a little longer and you should wait until everyone orders before you start. Dinner appointments are the most leisurely and you should wait until everyone has finished their entre before you start talking business.

4. Ask the right questions

It’s important that you determine your prospective client’s needs. What are their current accounting needs? Do they already have an accountant? Are they satisfied with their current accountant? What services would they find most beneficial? The more you learn about their business and corresponding accounting needs the better equipped you’ll be to cater your pitch to align with their business objectives.

5. Emphasize benefits

Before you even practice your pitch try to take on your prospective client’s perspective. What would they most want from an accountant? While you probably offer everything from standard bookkeeping to payroll services, the client is more interested in how those services will benefit their business. It’s much more appealing to hear that you’ll help them cut costs and increase profits than it is to know that you can manage their accounts payable and accounts receivable.

6. Listen to and answer questions

This step is often overlooked. We can be so focused on delivering our pitch that we forget to listen to our prospective client’s questions and thoughtfully answer them. This will help you best determine what their deeper concerns might be. Often this is where the deal is sealed as the client comes to realize that you’re genuinely interested in what is best for their business.

Enhancing Your Sales Pitch

You’ll be better equipped to seal the deal when you have a professional designation to back your experience and expertise. Not to mention, when you receive training in small business accounting, you will enhance your service offerings and become a full-service financial provider! What client wouldn’t want their tax preparer to become a one-stop shop for their financial needs?

And when you enroll in Universal’s Professional Bookkeeper Program, you learn how to become a client’s Profit Expert, enabling you to contribute to a client’s profitability - a skill that makes your services invaluable. Imagine how that will enhance your sales pitch!

Get started today! UAC has been training professionals like you for over 25 years. Benefit from our experience and expertise. Enroll now and gain the skills and confidence necessary to secure more clients and seal countless deals!

A Look at the Value of Bookkeeping and Accounting

Wanted: Accountants and bookkeepers with pleasing personalities and strong moral character. We’re looking for professionals aware of production processes and the intricacies of manufacturing, who enjoy doing figures and have legible handwritten and an average command of English. These applicants should know bookkeeping thoroughly, have taken a specialized accounting course, and can analyze a business by looking at its records.

Did you ever watch those old informational films from the 1940’s? I saw a couple in high school; I think our teacher was trying to make us laugh by showing us how much things had changed. You might be surprised to learn that the above description comes from one of those old films. In fact, here it is, from “Your Life Work Series: Bookkeeping and Accounting” on YouTube:

Each of us is suited to a certain type of work. Is your future in bookkeeping and accounting? As dry as that video may be, much of what it says is still true today, although the opportunities in accounting and bookkeeping are much more exciting than they were 62 years ago.

Small Business Accounting

There were many small businesses in 1945. Things haven’t changed much; today small businesses are booming and the forecast for the future is. Unfortunately over 50% of small businesses today fail, casualties of poor financial management. Whether business owners were convinced they could manage the finances themselves, or whether their accountants didn’t understand their role as profit center expert, these businesses could have been saved with good small business accounting. The need for this type of accountant grows daily.

Start Your Own Accounting Practice

The job of managing small business accounting is perfect for the freelance accountant who has his/her own accounting practice. As a tax preparer you probably “enjoy doing figures” and just need instruction in order to gain the necessary skills to start your own accounting business.

Universal Accounting Center’s Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program can teach you those skills. Most accounting programs teach big business accounting which makes up about 2% of accounting opportunities. Small business accounting, however, constitutes over 80% of those opportunities, and Universal has over 25 years experience training students in just that. Not only will the PB Program give you practical training in small business accounting, but it will also afford you the chance to earn a professional designation which will demonstrate your expertise to current and potential clients.

But don’t worry, all this doesn’t take years to achieve. In less than 60 hours, you can finish the course, earn the designation, and move on with your dreams. This video-based program enables you to learn on your own time, at your own pace. You can finish in weeks, or if that doesn’t work with your schedule, you can take a few months to leisurely move through the materials, which includes workbooks with real-life accounting scenarios that give you the practical experience you need to excel.

The accounting field is much more exciting than the 1945 Life Work Series film portrays. With your expertise in tax preparation, you can easily add accounting services to your offerings and expand your business into a full-time, year-round endeavor. Don’t wait to become a full-service financial provider. Enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper course today and save $90!

You’re Fired? That’s Great!

Believe me… this could be a great opportunity. Getting fired may be really tough to take, but could be the best thing to happen to you. Just remember, you’re not alone. The halls of history are crowded with people who have been fired.

Sometimes out of the ashes of perceived failure rises the Phoenix of Incredible Accomplishment. Don’t consider it a failure, consider it as an opportunity. Let’s take a minute and talk about Soichiro Honda.

Do You Know Soichiro Honda?

Born in 1906, as a boy he helped his father repair bicycles in his home village of Komyo, Japan. At the age of 16 he left for Tokyo and worked in an automobile repair shop until age 22 when he started his own repair business.

At that time, most of the big businesses in Japan were run by “old money” families and a real “good-old-boys” network, but following the war, a number of new corporations sprang up including, Toyota, Fuji and Suzuki.

Soichiro wanted to make piston rings for Toyota and started a business to do just that, but was mocked because of his inferior designs. Despite the total rejection and humiliation, he was determined to manufacture piston rings for Toyota. Although he was a poor student, he went back to school and eventually came up with a piston ring that Toyota purchased and went to work constructing a manufacturing facility.

Because of the war, without raw materials to build a plant, Soichiro put his engineers to work. They created their own concrete, construction began and piston ring manufacturing followed. Soichiro was in the piston ring business.

Unfortunately a hurricane destroyed his manufacturing plant, leaving him broke and penniless.

What Did Soichiro Do?

Because he couldn’t afford an automobile, he put a small motor on a bicycle and went back to work. He eventually started making his motorized bicycles for friends and neighbors, when the idea to mass produce them made sense.

Because he had no money, he convinced a group of bicycle shops all throughout Japan to finance the creation of what became the Honda Cub, an incredibly popular motor-bike in Japan and the United States during the 50’s.

Soichiro Honda is a True American Success Story (Despite the Fact that He’s Japanese)

Today, Honda Motors is one of the biggest and most successful automobile manufacturers in the world. Who would have thought that after initially suffering humiliation and defeat atToyota, Honda Motors would become such an incredible competitor?

What Does this Have to do With Getting Fired?

Realize that the axe falls on just about everybody at one time or another. Mr. Honda may not have been an employee of Toyota, but he was fired and rejected by them. You are not alone. In fact, Francie Dalton, a business consultant in Columbia Maryland, says there are eight stages that most people go through after being fired.

1. Incredulity
2. Humiliation
3. Terror
4. Resentment
5. Acceptance
6. Perspective
7. Action
8. Control

Understanding your feelings as normal should make it easier to move on.

In fact, how it happens isn’t as important as what you do after it happens. The quicker you can jump to step 5 and move on, the better off you’ll find yourself.

Dalton goes on to say, “You can’t stay in the dumps forever, so why not take the next step now? You can stay miserable for two weeks, or get excited, seek better alliances and see this time as an opportunity.”

You Want Me to be Excited ?

Many folks who find themselves in this position realize that they face a really a great opportunity to do something that they really want. Often, they find it to be the perfect time to start their own business.

Starting a Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation business is a great idea right now. As small businesses continue to grow, the need for qualified bookkeepers and accountants will continue to increase. If you’re interested in a recession-proof profession that has created a profitable income since before the Italian Renaissance, I haven’t found a better profession than bookkeeping and accounting.

To learn more about what a fantastic opportunity awaits you, simply click on the link below. It may be hard to believe right now, but let me be the first to offer my congratulations on the new opportunites that stand before you.

Click Here to Find Out What a Great Opportunity it is to Own a Professional Bookkeeping Business

What Makes a Professional Bookkeeping Business Even Better?

Nothing is a better companion to a profitable bookkeeping and accounting business than adding professional tax preparation. By increasing the number of products that you can offer, you’ll not only be able to provide your clients with a complete financial service package, but will be able to create a better income for you and your family as well.

Why Should I Consider Adding Bookkeeping and Accounting to My New Tax Preparation Business?

As you can see on the graph at the left, income from a tax preparation business will peak during the first four months of the year. Many professional tax preparers are able to bill at rates that are $100 per hour or more, enabling them to work for 4 to 6 months per year and semi-retire the rest of the year.

As you are building your tax preparation practice, many of our graduates have found that adding a bookkeeping and accounting service has provided a means for them to stabilize their income throughout the year.

At Universal Accounting, we’ve discovered over the years that the average small business bookkeeping account will generate an income of approximately $300 per month. By billing your tax clients on a monthly basis and offering tax planning services along with year-end tax preparation services, you can feel confident billing $100 per month for tax preparation services creating a gross billing of $400 per month to clients who receive a complete financial service.

The graph below shows the impact that adding bookkeeping services and tax preparation services can produce for your business. Click on the link below for a more complete description of what combining a tax preparation business with a bookkeeping and accounting practice can do for you.

Click Here and Find Out More About Offering Full-Service Financial Services

Starting a Tax Preparation Business Makes Sense

Click Here to Compare Universal’s Professional Tax Preparer Certification to a Franchise

Unlike franchises, with an education from Universal Accounting you can begin your accounting and tax practice by operating out of your home. In fact, that’s what we’d recommend. You don’t need to run an accounting or tax service out of an expensive office space. The only people who will find you in an office will be the people trying to sell you something.

Business Advice From a 21 year old Entrepreneur? You Betcha!

Learn from Those Who Have Thought “Out of the Box”

At 12-years old Cameron Johnson started his second (yes, second) business. He purchased his little sister’s Beanie Baby collection for just $100. He sold it on Ebay for $1000, after which he promptly applied to become a retailer for several Beanie Baby manufacturers. Using a personal computer he got for Christmas when he was nine, he sold Beanie Babies from his website, eventually making $50,000 from this venture.

Now 21, Cameron has successfully started, managed and sold 12 businesses. You might say he’s an entrepreneurial phenomenon. He continues to be involved in several businesses, has been featured in over 200 news stories, is a motivational speaker, and is currently celebrating the publishing of his first book, You Call the Shots. This young businessman offers 3 principles for success to other entrepreneurs like himself.

Believe in yourself.
Cameron mentions the first principle to success is confidence. A little moxie, pluck, spunk, and self-assurance can go a long way. He says, “It’s actually not that difficult to succeed. It’s much more common sense than rocket science. But it starts with finding the courage to put yourself out there.”

Self-confidence is what give you the courage to respond positively to rejection; it also gives you the ability to trust your own instincts, which Cameron says is crucial when running your own business. “You can learn all kinds of things from other people, but ultimately it’s your own instincts that you’ll need to rely on.”

And finally, a belief in yourself will resonate to those you interact with. While your product and/or service may be exceptional, clients and potential clients must also believe in you for your business to be successful.

Believe in what you’re selling.
It’s difficult to sell something if you don’t believe it has any value. Regardless of what you’re selling, you need to appreciate its worth. Cameron firmly believes that a business person is also a salesperson, and that there’s a difference between being pushy and being persuasive. People resort to being pushy when selling something that’s useless. He says, “I’m persuasive when I’m selling, but that’s because I truly believe in what I’m selling and the value it will create for my customer. My feeling is, I’d be doing my customers a disservice if I let them not buy my product.”

Treat others with respect.
When you respect yourself, respect for others follows naturally. Cameron states that respect is the best secret of business success. When you treat each person you encounter with respect, your client base will grow as more and more individuals are attracted to both you and your services; these same people will also send family and friends your way because they will trust you to treat them well.

For such a young businessman, Cameron Johnson is brimming with confidence and ease. With such a bright past his future appears even more radiant. But the important thing to remember is that Cameron doesn’t have an MBA, and when he first started he didn’t have an impressive repertoire of business experience; he was simply a kid with a good idea, some common sense and gusto. And while he’s just 21, there’s probably a lot we can all learn from this young entrepreneur about believing in yourself.

For this and more information straight from Cameron himself, visit his article “A Teen Millionaire’s Three Principles to Success.”

Are you ready to take that next step? Are you tired of thinking, “Why not me?” You have gotten this far in your search to do what you want to in your chosen career, take the next step. The time is now to be able to get the training and the change you desire in your professional life. Click here to find out if Professional Tax Preparation Certification is a fit for you.

Young and Successful Entrepreneurs: What’s Their Secret?

Recently Inc.com released an article naming the top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 years old. From iPod accessories to business furniture, from real estate to large and trendy women’s shoes, and from popcorn seasonings to insomnia cookies, these young upstarts are clever and dedicated. But what else to do they have in common and how can it help other entrepreneurial hopefuls like you?

Obviously one thing they have in common is youth. But interestingly, they are part of a generation more likely to start their own businesses, not once but countless times. Donna Fenn reported that a recent survey conducted by OPEN from American Express found that 55% of Generation Y (born between 1977 and 1994) view themselves as serial entrepreneurs while only 33% of baby boomers do.

There are other commonalities among these young entrepreneurs, including a desire to take risks, familiarity with technology, and an understanding of their peers’ wants and needs.

Risk Enthusiasts
We all know that starting your own business requires a fair amount of risk taking. 70% of Gen Y says they like taking risks while only 53% of their older counterparts agree. While some of that can be attributed to having less to loose, it enables them to move forward without fear, focusing all their energy on making their venture work.

Familiarity with Technology
Because they’ve grown up with the Internet, multimedia, gadgets, widgets, and other technologies, they recognize its inherent value in helping promote and build their businesses. Not only do many of these 30 under 30 entrepreneurs have technology-based enterprises but most of them recognize the value of using the Internet to promote their businesses, either through viral marketing, blogging, websites, or other electronic means.

An Understanding of Their Peers Wants and Needs
Obviously, Generation Y makes up a large portion of the American population, nearly as much as the baby boomers. And because Gen Y is a large group of like-minded consumers, it serves these entrepreneurs well to know what appeals to them. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that many of these risk enthusiasts have a pulse on this young and hip market and know which business ventures are viable and which are not.

But you don’t have to be 17 to 30 in order to become a successful entrepreneur. But perhaps we could learn a thing or two from these trendy upstarts. Here’s some advice from just a few of these 30 young and successful entrepreneurs:

One thing I’ve learned is that you have to learn to celebrate the little successes when they happen, and not just worry about the failures all the time. —Ben Goldhirsh, Good

Identify your own weaknesses and find people that you can work with who will make up for that. —Nick Kenner, Just Salad

You have to have a vision of what you’re actually going to provide for someone. Why is someone going to use my service? What is it going to do for them? If you can actually solve somebody’s problem, the money will always follow. —Raj Lahoti, Online Guru

See yourself first, then sell your idea. Ninety percent of investors will invest in a person. If you create an ‘A’ team with a ‘B’ product, then you’ll have an ‘A’ company. If you create a ‘B’ team with an ‘A’ product, then you’ll have a ‘B’ company. —Miles Munz, InterviewStream

The most important thing is just to go out and start something. I think a lot of people feel as if they are not qualified yet or they just need to get X-amount of money in the bank before they go out and start something. And it doesn’t really matter what it is, you’ll get phenomenal experience starting everything. And eventually you’ll get a successful business under your belt. —Hayden Hamilton, GreenPrint

You Really Are Worth It:

Reasons Why People Should Have You Do Their Taxes

Sometimes it’s most important to convince yourself that you’re worth the fees you charge for preparing taxes. But in addition to recognizing your own value, for marketing purposes, it is good practice to articulate all the reasons why tax preparers benefit their clients. Here are 6 things to remember the next time you, or anyone else, wonders if your services merit your fees.

1. You Save Time, Energy, and Anxiety
If you do their taxes, they don’t have to. This usually means they can spend their time on more worthwhile ventures, sleep well, and be worry-free come April 15^th. And for business owners, this means they can spend that time making more money. This is a benefit that most potential clients would absolutely agree with.

2. You Manage Complicated Tax Issues
One thing is always constant: tax law changes. The layperson doesn’t typically follow tax law and would like filing to be less complicated. That’s where you come in. You do know tax law and understand what may appear to be a complex tax jungle. You should put potential clients at ease: you know what you’re doing and can use that knowledge to enhance their lives.

3. You Potentially Increase Returns
Vula! And this is where your knowledge can speak to a potential client’s pocketbook. Because you do know what you’re doing, you can potentially increase tax returns. Understanding the in’s and out’s of deductions, charitable contributions, capital savings, write-offs, and depreciation can mean a lot more money returning to your client, often more than enough to cover your fees.

4. You Provide Tax Planning Services that Ultimately Save Money
If you really want to win a client over you’ll tell them why they should enlist your services throughout the year: tax planning can save them a substantial amount come next tax season. Tax planning is important because it helps clients make tax-saving choices throughout the year that pay off when you file their taxes. You can tell them just which decisions will save them that money.

5. You’re a Pleasure to Work with
And don’t forget that your personality is the frosting on this taxing cake. Your confidence and enthusiasm will inspire them to trust you with their finances. So be personable and friendly: it’ll put potential and existing clients at ease.

6. You’re Certified
You probably know better than most people: tax payers are often weary of tax preparers who lack credentials, because not all tax preparers are created equal. And currently no licensing is required to become a paid tax preparer. Uncle Jo who was good at math can prepare all his nieces and nephews taxes without recourse. Along with Uncle Jo there are fraudulent “tax preparers” who promise higher returns by committing tax fraud; they then skip town and leave their clients to deal with IRS audits. Also in the mix are hard-working, legitimate tax preparers like you who supplement their income or run a small business preparing tax returns. So how do those hard-working tax preparers put existing clients and potentials clients at ease? By earning a professional designation that demonstrates their tax preparation proficiency and competency.

Perhaps you feel confident in your knowledge of tax preparation and don’t have the time to take a certification course. Universal Accounting Center can award you with a Professional Tax Preparer Designation by simply taking their certification text. And this would be the 6^th reason you’re worth your fees: you’re certified. For just $570 you could earn a professional designation and show potential and existing clients that you have the knowledge and skill to properly prepare their returns. This goes a long way to impress tax payers and get additional clients. Order your exam today.

Building a Lucrative Business So You Can Quit Your Day Job

If you are a tax preparer, this is the most lucrative time of year for you. Within the next few months you’ll probably make more money preparing taxes than you do year-round. Whether you do this on the side or work for yourself full-time as a tax professional, chances are you’d be interested in ways you can continue to generate a significant income, even after tax season ends.

Do you want to earn this kind of money year round? Do you have customers that you know would do more business with you if you could just figure out how to provide additional services for them? Do you yearn to build your business out and upward in the same type of work you are doing now?

Small Business Accounting, a Sure Profession

Chances are you make good money this time of year. Unfortunately, your client base probably peters out come May. That still leaves you with more than half a year to fill, and we’re guessing you’d like to fill it with lucrative projects.

Every small business must perform accounting tasks in order to survive. Unfortunately, more than half of them fail due to poor financial management. And because there are so many small businesses, more and more everyday, being a small business accountant is a lucrative profession.

UAC: the Small Business Accounting Experts

Alf Bostrum, founder of Universal Accounting Center, spent more than a decade of his life saving small businesses from financial failure. In that time he realized that the majority of accountants are not trained in small business accounting. With this knowledge, and years of experience, he started UAC in hopes of teaching accounting professionals small business accounting and a method for marketing these services. Since 1979, for more than 25 years, UAC has trained countless individuals to become successful small business accountants. They’ve also taught them how to generate a substantial client base so that their small business can thrive.

The Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program

You can spend years in a university environment and never learn the practical application of accounting principles as they relate to the small business. That’s years of seat time and tuition costs that will not sufficiently prepare you for the more than 85% of accounting opportunities that reside in the small business sector. Wouldn’t it be nice to find a program you could complete in less than a year, on your own, at your own pace?

UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program can be completed in less than 60 hours. But those 60 hours are packed with practice in the true application of accounting principles. You won’t have to listen to hours of useless lecturing; you’ll be given valuable worksheets where you will complete real-life accounting tasks. And at the end of your training you’ll be able to earn a professional designation, proof to clients and potential clients of your newly-earned expertise.

Look into providing that invaluable service of year round tax and accounting advice to those with whom you have been doing business as a tax preparer. Expand the great working relationship you have established each tax season and become a year-round asset. Gain the training that will add that essential component to growing your business by enrolling in the Professional Bookkeeper Program today!