Many of our readers are working moms, managing accounting practices while still parenting their children from home. Motherhood is still a full-time job regardless of how old your children are. This can be a difficult balance to achieve as women try to provide for their families while simultaneously raising them. Here are some tips we think might help:
Review your values. Everyone needs to reassess their values now and again. As life changes and different situations unfold, values may shift, evolve or change altogether. It’s important that you determine what your values are because they should drive your actions. Once you articulate your values you can ask yourself whether or not your priorities, goals, and schedule reflect these values.
Work together. Finding that perfect work and family balance is not your responsibility alone. Depending on the age of your children, you can enlist them in the effort by requiring them to perform certain chores that will enable you to better manage your time. And if you have a spouse, divide up the workload so you’re not so overwhelmed. Once you divvy out responsibilities, learn to let others perform their assignments. You’re doing yourself no favors by micromanaging your home life.
Create time zones. It’s often helpful for working moms to set a tentative schedule determining when they work and when they parent. If your kids are school-age, it’s probably most convenient to work while you children are at school. With young children, you may need to work either late at night or early in the morning when they’re still sleeping. And don’t feel guilty getting a sitter for a number of hours every week; this can be one way to ensure that you get your work hours in.
Embrace chaos. The truth is, regardless of how organized and well-scheduled you may be, balancing work and family will result in some chaos. While you may do the best you can to stay on top of things, the house will still get messy, the car will still need maintenance, and your children will still get sick. In order to handle these little obstacles you need to roll with the punches and come to expect the unexpected.
Say ‘no.’ Regardless of what some believe, you’re not superwoman and cannot be expected to do it all. Give yourself permission to play the working-mom card. You don’t have to be involved in PTA, the book club, and multiple volunteer efforts. When asked to participate in another event, organization or fundraiser, feel free to place your family and business first.
Eliminate the unnecessary. There are a lot of things that can sap your time and energy: television, social networking, phone calls, etc. While you shouldn’t eliminate those activities that are enjoyable and energizing, you should consider doing away with anything that leaves you feeling drained and distracted.
Let go. You can only do so much. At some point you need to relax and let some things go. While this may feel uncomfortable, sometimes it’s the only way to maintain your sanity.
Increase Your Service Offerings with Tax Preparation and Planning
Your practice will become even more appealing when you add tax preparation services to your menu. Not only that but many tax preparers make more money in the months leading up to the April 15 tax deadline than others make all year long! Since all individuals and businesses, small or large, are required to file taxes, tax preparation is a respected skill that will always be in demand. And many of your current and prospective clients would probably be happy to have you file their taxes as well as perform the QuickBooks services you currently provide.
Also consider who your clients will trust to file their taxes. Countless individuals are scammed each year by people who claim to know what they’re doing. More and more are becoming weary of tax preparers without any credentials. The Tax Preparer Designation will put many of those individuals at ease, assuring them that you have been properly trained in tax preparation.
Take time this holiday season to acquire the expertise necessary to become a Professional Tax Preparer before next tax season. UAC’s Professional Tax Preparer (PTP) program will not only give you hands-on training in completing full individual (1040) and business returns (1065, 1120, 1120S), but it will also provide you with the following:
- 20 hours of valuable video instruction
- 2 instructional manuals
- Step-by-step instruction in becoming a sole practitioner
- One year of follow-up support from expert tax preparers
- The opportunity to earn valuable professional certification
- Our iron-clad, risk-free guarantee
Increasing your service offerings could make you the premier financial provider in your area. Enroll in the Professional Tax Preparer Program today, and improve your competitive advantage while securing your business standing in the local community.
