Running a successful tax practice depends on your ability to persuade potential clients that your services are valuable.  This requires a keen awareness of their needs.  In order to determine whether or not your services are a good match for their needs, you must initiate a sales conversation that enables you to ask key sales […]

Starting your own financial practice can be terrifying and exciting at the same time.  There are lots of pros in self-employment: the flexibility to work when you want and on the projects you want to work on, the potential to uncap your salary, and the ability to wake every morning to a job you love.  […]

Small-business owners must track the daily tasks that eat up their workday, because while there are core-functions to any business, entrepreneurs often become distracted, and sometimes consumed by, necessary tasks that could be done just as easily, and probably more economically, through outsourcing.  The question is, how does one determine which functions should remain in-house […]

If you’re a self-employed tax preparer, you’ll encounter many situations where you must negotiate a favorable outcome for your small business.  These may be large or small deals and could occur with clients, colleagues and other businesses.  In order to be a successful negotiator you must know how to achieve a win-win situation.  Selling yourself […]

Complying with IRS Regulations When you begin the search for employees, you must ensure that you complete all the necessary documentation in order to comply with IRS regulations.  The following are three tasks you must complete before adding someone to your payroll: 1. Ensure Eligibility to Work in the US.  To verify an employee’s ability […]

While running a home-base business can be inexpensive and convenient, it can get tricky as you try to balance work and family life, sometimes from the same room.  In order to ensure that your professional and personal lives don’t collide in the process, you should have a strategy or at least some techniques that help […]

Family businesses: they seem to work really well or fail miserably.  That’s not to say that family-run businesses can’t be highly rewarding and lucrative.  However, if you’re participating in a family business, it’s important that you understand what you’re up against.  Working with relatives can be tricky unless you have a game plan—a series of […]

Let’s face it – you are never going to lose a client, or a prospective client for that matter, from too much contact as long as the contact is relevant to their business. Keep In Touch to Keep Your Profitable Clients One of the most frequently heard complaints from small business owners is the fact […]

The path to success can be forged through a multitude of unusual methods.  In a recent SmallBizTrends article, The Young Entrepreneur Council shares “14 Unorthodox Tips for Becoming Successful.”  Here

I write a humor column for a local paper, poking fun at the misadventures in my greatest occupation: motherhood.   It keeps me sane and helps me maintain a healthy perspective amidst what

CBSnews.com writer Margaret Heffernan is asked for professional advice by many organizations.  When a senior manager asked why they come to her, she explained, “Most organizations are complacent and narcissistic. 

If you’re thinking about getting a tax license, you’re on track for a lucrative addition to your career. Becoming a certified Professional Tax Preparer is an excellent step toward a