Leveling the Playing Field is Not Difficult-You Have an Advantage

Anthony “Spud” Webb is only 5-foot 7-inches tall. But with a vertical leap of 42 inches, Spud Webb had an illustrious career in the NBA for 12 years.

Spud didn’t care what others said about his height. He wanted to play basketball in the NBA. There wasn’t anything that would stop him from achieving his lifelong dream.

As the high-flying spark of both the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings, his average of 10 points and 5 assists per game made him exciting to watch. His ball handling skills and spectacular dunks earned him the respect of fans, teammates and competitors.

His greatest achievement is probably his incredible victory at the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Championship where he defeated many who were more than a foot taller than him, including his teammate Dominique Wilkins, who is HUGE.

I remember watching in disbelief as the smallest guy on the court literally flew through the air.

What Does Spud Webb Have to Do With a Tax Preparation Business?

He took advantage of that 42 inch leap. He may have been only waist-high to many of his competitors on the court, but they couldn’t jump 42 inches. You can do the same. (Even if you can’t jump like Spud Webb.)

Sure, the National Tax Firms have a few things on their side. Along with a bigger budget, they’ve got the experience of up to 50 years under their belt. But you can still pull a “Spud Webb” on them.

With greater flexibility and the ability to innovate you can capitalize on these strengths to compete with the big guys. Of course, to operate on a level playing field, you’ll need to employ best practices, which are the great equalizer.

But don’t forget that the advantages of your tax practice are powerful. Consider a massive battleship and the little speed boat. It can take a mile or more for the battleship to stop or turn around, but the little speed boat can turn on a dime. Often, the difference between success and failure lies in our ability to make quick course corrections.

What Are Best Practices?

Starting out small is a great idea. I’m a big fan of working out of a home office, but if you’d like to encourage your practice to grow even bigger, my dad always use to say, “If you want to run with the big dogs, ya gotta act like a big dog.” In other words, you have to operate your business as if you were a bigger firm. “Best Practices” include things like:

• Office Site Selection: I’m a big advocate of the Home Office. But if your little firm grows to a size that’s just not practical to work out of a home office, there are some site selection considerations that you need to consider.Location, Location, Location. Talk to any real estate professional and they’ll tell you location is everything. The same is true if you want to lease space and run with the big guys. Research the location that offers the best drawing area and the fewest barriers. (Either physical or psychological, ei: a high use freeway, inaccessibility or a difficult intersection.)

  You’ll want a location that offers the best traffic potential (potential clients) and visibility that you can afford.

• Tax Office Policy and Procedures: The cornerstone of best tax business practices requires a little thought and organization. A system that enables employees to handle the day to day operations of the business the way you want is the best practice.This will include such things as: 1) Answering the Telephone, 2) Resolving Client Problems, 3) Price, Prepare, Check, Process and File Tax Returns, 4) Comply with IRS Due Diligence Requirements, 5) Handle Payments and Bank Deposits and 6) Report Daily Results
• Recruiting and Training Tax Preparers: If you want to grow your firm beyond yourself, you’ll need to hire additional people. H&R Block has established the best practice of starting a tax school. Through their school, they train people every year to fill the data-input positions that enable H&R Block to file all the returns they prepare each year.Although this is what H&R Block has established as a best practice, through your affiliation with Universal Accounting as a student, you have access to hundreds of graduates every year, many of whom don’t want to begin their own tax practice, but would make great employees with a thorough knowledge of tax preparation beyond the capabilities of a data input clerk.
• Personnel Policies: Hire and manage employees like the big firms. Most small business don’t screen, interview or train employees like the big boys. You may not have a Human Resource department, but that doesn’t mean you should expect less from your employees.With employee leasing and other staffing options available, your small tax firm can look and feel like a firm with a large HR Department.
• Tax Preparer Employment Agreements: Firms that don’t bind their employees to certain contractual agreements run the risk of losing clients when they loose employees. However, if your agreement is too restrictive, you won’t be able to enforce it.Don’t expect to keep employees if your compensation plan doesn’t allow them to feel a sense of success. (Don’t take too big a piece of the pie or they may walk away and leave you with an empty tin.) Zig Zigler says, “Give people what they want… and they’ll give you what you want.”

  That applies to employees as well as clients.

• Tax Preparer Compensation: Performance based pay scales are the ideal, but preparers who simply crank out returns to generate fees without satisfying your clients needs will not help you grow your practice. Consider a combination of wage and incentive to compensate your preparers.Remember, the best measure of your employee’s success is client retention. Incentives for preparers who’s retention rate is above a certain percentage could produce dramatic results.
• Marketing Within a Budget: Universal Accounting offers the only program I’m aware of that not only teaches you the nuts-and-bolts of both individual and business tax preparation, they’ll also teach you time-tested and effective ways to market your practice. These methods are not only effective, but inexpensive too.You’ll also have a personal coach available to help you with any tax or marketing questions you may find along the way. For a fraction of the cost of a franchise you will compete very favorably with the big national firms. Some of the Big Tax Franchises can cost up to $80,000 just to get started.

Grow Big or Stay Small… It’s Up to You

Of course, you don’t have to be a large firm with employees to have an incredibly successful tax preparation practice. In fact, many of our graduates discovered that by staying small and offering a complete financial service package to their clients they can work out of a home office, make a great income and enjoy a lifestyle that allows them to spend time with their family.

Click HERE to learn more about starting a full-service accounting and tax practice and how you can increase the profitability of your business without extra employees.

Create Value and Reap the Rewards

The entire team at Universal Accounting is committed to your success. With the most complete education in the business and the highest level of service and support after you purchase your course in the industry, you can be confident that your professional tax preparation business has all the tools you need. Your successful and profitable tax preparation business is only a few more mouse clicks away. Don’t delay. Click on the link below and find out how achievable, profitable and easy a professional tax preparation business will be for you.

Click Here and See for Yourself How Much Income Potential Just Waiting For You

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...