Tax Strategies & Preparation Articles

If you’re looking to grow your business and attract new clients you may consider launching a press campaign in which you use media outlets in order to alert the public of your tax practice and the valuable services you offer.  In fact, this can be an inexpensive way to market your business to prospective clients.

In order to launch a successful press campaign all you need are a few key items:

Press Kits.  A press kit contains all the information about your business that a media outlet would use to run a story about you or your business.  Generally, everything in the press kit would be held in a folder that has your business name and logo.  You can also include a press kit on your website where you would link to all the information that would prove helpful to interested journalists.

Press kit items include:

• Biographies and photos of top executives (if you are the owner and sole practitioner, that executive would be you)
• A one-page fact sheet about your business
• Background information on your company
• Recent press releases
• Brochures describing your services

Some of these items are described in more detail below.

Media Lists/Contacts. In order to effectively use media outlets to distribute information about your business, you need to know which outlets reach your target market.  Looking at local publications like newspapers, circulars, and small magazines, you can determine which would most likely have readers that could also be prospective clients.  All these publications should be included on your media lists. As you work more closely with these organizations you become familiar with key contacts you can add to your media list as well.

Press Releases. You should take advantage of every press-worthy event to run press releases in local publications.  Newspapers and the like are hungry for filler pieces like that and will run them for free.  Just be sure that your press release is to-the-point and provides pertinent information about your business, the services you offer, contact information and all the details of your newsworthy event.

Fact Sheet. A fact sheet provides a quick snapshot of your business with a brief paragraph describing you company’s history, when and why it got started, the services you offer and the personnel you employ.  Ensure that all documents include contact information where you can easily be reached with more questions.

Media Alerts. You want to use the media to your advantage, so any time your business hosts or attends an event you should alert the media with an announcement.  In this, the event gets free media coverage that will enable interested prospects to learn more about your business by attending or reading up on the event.

Your Logo. In order for interested parties to include a copy of your business name and logo, you should include a logo for them so they can include the most professional image possible.

Photos and Biographies. Your business will look more professional if you can include professional photos of yourself and any other executives along with brief biographies which include work history and qualifications in reverse chronological order.  Journalists especially will find these helpful when interviewing you for a news story.

In being prepared you can easily launch a successful press campaign.  All you need are professionally printed documents and key information to get started.  Once you have that, you can be proactive and get the word out about your business at crucial times.

If you would like an example of press releases and other important press documents, visit Universal Accounting Center’s Press Room to learn more.

Langston Hughes wrote the following poem entitled “A Dream Deferred.”

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Webster defines “defer” as “to put off action; delay.” In actuality it’s a fancy way of saying procrastinate. Are you procrastinating your dreams? And what will happen to your dreams if you do? Most importantly, what will happen to you?

Start Your Own Business

Attending to your own future is not selfish. As you invest in a brighter and more lucrative future for you and your family, you are taking action to improve your lifestyle while preparing for a more comfortable future.

In a number of months you could have a thriving bookkeeping service with a sustaining client base and a more independent lifestyle. Not only can you determine how much money you will make, but you can decide when and where you will work. We’re guessing you’ve dreamed of enjoying that kind of professional freedom! And achieving that will take less time than you imagined and an even smaller financial investment.

The Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program

This PB Program can help you become proficient in small-business accounting, giving you the expertise and confidence necessary to start a business’s books from scratch. In less than 60 hours you could earn professional certification evidencing your proficiency to prospective clients.

In addition to becoming a Professional Bookkeeper, this program will also teach you how to market your new skills, securing those clients that will ensure your business’s success. From startup to year-end, this program is designed to help you begin your new accounting practice with ease.

But don’t take our word for it. Read what some of our graduates have to say about the program:

Even with 15 years of accounting background, I found myself learning something new nearly every day. – B. Varechok

I can honestly say that the hands-on training from Universal Accounting Center was far more helpful than that of my degree program. The training I received in you class was superb, exactly what I needed for the type of accounting business I was trying to start. I have been so pleased with the training I received from you, that my two part-time employees are currently taking your course. -S.A. Ivins

The Small Business Accounting class was one of the most enjoyable and probably the most useful and practical I have ever taken. That includes the MBA I recently received.-N. Lee

As an average for each client I am making about $30 – $50 an hour, I’ve been able to quit my full-time job. Thanks again to everyone at Universal Accounting Center! It has created for me a brighter outlook financially, as well as more free time in my personal life. And, I didn’t have to go to college for years and pay thousands of dollars for an education.-S. Thomas

Take Advantage NOW!

If you enroll in our Professional Bookkeeper Program now, we will also sign you up for an additional program, QuickBooks Made Profitable. Designed to help you attract even more clients using your QuickBooks expertise, this course will enable you to start and maintain an even more lucrative practice.

80% of small businesses use Intuit’s Quickbooks software. Learning Quickbooks will help you keep more efficient records, enabling you to teach your clients how to use the software so that you can get the information you need which will make your job much easier. In addition, this program will teach you how to attract more clients using your QuickBooks setup, help, and consulting services.

It’s time to stop deferring your dreams. You and your family deserve more. When you enroll in our Professional Bookkeeper and our QuickBooks Made Profitable Programs, you make a personal investment that will pay large dividends in your future. Take advantage of this special deal. Enroll now!

Now Is the Time to Decide

When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.-John M. Richardson

May the dreams of your past be the reality of your future.-Anonymous

For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.-African Proverb

There are four more months left in 2008; how will you use them?

Your aspirations will continue to reside in your future unless you do something about them, today! You can take action to start your own bookkeeping service by enrolling in the Professional Bookkeeper Program. You could be finished in less than 60 days and earn certification that will show prospective clients that you have the expertise necessary to handle all their accounting needs.

One Simple Course

This course is designed to make you a Profit Expert. What’s a Profit Expert? A financial professional who does more than balance books, but also informs clients how to increase their business’s profitability. They are proactive accountants who help their clients make informed business decisions aimed at improving a company’s fiscal health.

In addition to becoming a Profit Expert, the Professional Bookkeeper Program will teach you all you need to know to start and manage a business’s books. Specifically you will learn how to perform small-business accounting tasks. This is remarkable because most accounting programs prepare their graduates to perform corporate accounting; however, more than 80% of accounting opportunities are not with large corporations but small businesses.

There are more than enough local businesses with which to build your client base. They could use someone specialized in those skills that satisfy their unique needs.

In addition to the reasons noted above, there are many more that detail why a bookkeeping service makes so much sense. Here’s a list of some of those reasons:

• Every business is required by law to keep books
• You can earn a good living (the average client will bring in about $300 per month)
• It’s an inexpensive business to start (you probably have most of what is required right now)
• No expensive equipment is required
• You can make money doing what you enjoy
• You can work anytime, any place
• Rented office space is not required
• Inventory is not required

A bookkeeping service is one of the easiest to begin. And to wrap up your training, we will also teach you how to market your new and unique skills. You’ll not only know how to start and manage a company’s books from scratch but also how to acquire those qualified clients that will appreciate your service offerings.

In less than four months you could be ready to start your own accounting practice. Why not celebrate the New Year early by enrolling in a program that will change the course of your future, today?

Our New Years Gift to You

When you enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program, we will give you a special gift enabling you to start a more profitable practice: QuickBooks Made Profitable.

Here’s how it works. Nearly 80% of small businesses use Intuit’s Quickbooks software. While other programs may be useful, Quickbooks has definitely captured the small business market. Learning Quickbooks will not only help you keep more efficient records, but it enables you to teach your clients how to use the software so that you can get the information you need, making your job much easier. Add to that the ability to represent yourself as a QuickBooks expert and you’ll be able to attract larger numbers of potential clients. This program will teach you how to leverage your time while saving clients money in taxes and helping them increase their profits. What client wouldn’t be interested in that? We’ll teach you how to use this valuable software package to generate even more clients!

What an offer! After ordering and completing these two programs you will be ready to start the New Year off right.

Don’t delay your dreams any longer. 2009 will be another banner year for the small business. Take advantage of it today! Enroll now!

10 Tips on Getting More Done in Less Time (Part Two of a Two-Part Series)

Robert Half once said, “The combination of hard work and smart work is efficient work.” In today’s economic slowdown, you need to work as efficiently as possible; you just might outlast a recession by learning how to get more done in less time. In this two-week series we are helping you accomplish that by sharing tips on working more efficiently. Last week we covered the following five tips:

1. A clean, organized workspace
2. Schedule workday around your most productive times
3. Establish a routine
4. Hire help
5. Consider replacing some paper files with electronic files

This week we’ll continue our discussion on working efficiently by covering five more:

6. Perform similar tasks at same time

When multi-tasking you can expend a lot of energy on the process of beginning and the process of ending the different tasks you’re trying to juggle: taking files from drawers, looking up phone numbers, logging into your email. You can save yourself some time by performing similar tasks all at the same time: making phone calls, scheduling appointments, reviewing your clients’ status, and emailing. When you do this you don’t waste precious time building momentum only to shift gears to move on to a different task.

7. Avoid unnecessary meetings

While some meetings are absolutely necessary, others are not. Maybe it’s time to put your appointment schedule on a diet. How many of those meetings are truly required in order to perform the function of your job? Consider the objective of each meeting. Can those objectives be accomplished with an email or phone call? When you limit the amount of time you spent in unnecessary meetings you leave yourself more time for what really matters: billable hours.

8. Reduce the number of emails you send and receive

Is your inbox swamped with new emails every day? Some of those can be eliminated by minimizing the number of emails you send to others. Every time you send an email ask yourself if your communication is complete. Even though you can probably send 100 emails to the same person without increasing your Internet bill, to do so would not be a very frugal use of your time. Include all current and necessary correspondence in one email rather than sending lots of short, independent emails. This will limit the number of responses you receive.

9. Be productive and not just busy

Truly successful (and wealthy) business owners are not just busy, but productive. The time they spend working increases their bottom line because they have figured out how to perform more billable hours. Examine your work schedule and see how you could limit the busywork that earns you nothing; then increase the billable hours on which your livelihood depends.

10. Dedicate more attention to higher-yielding clients

While it’s important to spend time increasing your client base, some of that time may be better spent attending to higher-yielding clients. They already find your services valuable. Is there more you can do for them? Do they need tax planning services or financial consulting? Or could you enhance your service offerings in order to become even more valuable to these clients? Chances are your greatest profits come from a handful of high-yielding clients. Your business could become more profitable by better serving their financial needs.

Universal Accounting Center’s Solution to Higher Efficiency

The wise financial professional looks for ways to add complementary services to his/her menu of services in order to get those higher-yielding clients to do even more business with him/her. In doing so, earning-potential and appeal to prospective and current clients is greatly increased.

By adding small-business accounting services to your menu you are able to increase your billable hours, which in turn, increases your bottom line. UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program will teach you everything you need to know to manage a small business’s books, including how to market those services to prospective clients.

To learn more, order our video Introduction to the Professional Bookkeeper Program. This video will introduce you to the four module included in this course, demonstrating just how valuable it can be to you and your business. Survive the recession by adding accounting services to your offerings. You have nothing to lose and a increased bottom line to gain. Order the video today or watch it online for free.