Honing Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

The age old axiom, “The only constant in life is change,” is abundantly true. I have had an opportunity to analyze how much NAEA has changed since the spring of 2015 when I moved to another organization.

I barely recognize any of the staff. The Board is comprised of many new faces. The Affiliate Council has been repopulated since I migrated from NAEA. Many of the faces at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are new.

Yet many of the nuances of tax preparation and representation remain the same. Or are they? I challenge you to take a few moments from your day to reflect upon how much change has occurred over the past few years or over the past few months.

Never in our wildest imagination could we have generated the concepts in society that confront us today. The stalwart of American retail, the shopping mall, is quickly becoming hollowed vestiges of what once was. The pandemic has forced us to convert our shopping patterns to heavy reliance upon the Internet. The rare occurrence of a package on your doorstep has now been replaced by an Amazon-generated obstacle course comprised of packages in various shapes and sizes. As protective masks have rendered the traditional smile moot, we are adapting to using our visible eyes to smile at our friends and families. Today’s world seems pretty parallel to an obscure version of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone.

What is my point?

We are all creatures of habit. We are in our strongest comfort zone when things remain the same. Yet, tax experts are not immune to having to be dynamic. If you look a bit beyond the credential, you will find the basic fact that our members are mostly small business individuals who ply their craft, taxes, to generate revenue. This requires an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to adapt to dynamic changes in the marketplace. Are you planning or reacting?

I ask you to consider the myriad components that are required for your business. Most likely the accounting and filing of your business taxes are not a real problem. However, when was the last time you evaluated your firm’s marketing plan? Which promotional tool brings you the highest return on investment? Do you have a plan in place to grow your business? When was the last time you conducted a risk analysis on your business? How much do you invest in rewarding your client base for their loyal patronage? Have you conducted a market analysis to evaluate competition in your geographic region? What is your disaster recovery plan for your business assets? Have you aligned your skill set with your clients to ensure that you will remain relevant? Can you consider converting your business plan from a “pay for a return” concept to a revenue plan that results in a monthly revenue stream? Have you kept your skills up to date beyond periodic software updates and minimal continuing education to retain your credential? Is your business valued at the proper worth? In the limited quiet time that you reserve for planning, ask yourself, “Do I have a plan in place to remain relevant to my clients over the next three to five years?”

I dare you to give real thought on how to earn an additional $75,000 per year. It is not really as difficult as it may seem, but it does require a commitment to adapt an entrepreneurial mind set. I want you to begin to evaluate your success, not in terms of how many returns you complete annually, but rather, in how much revenue you can generate by expanding the scope of your business. Learn about the needs of your clients and adapt your business practices to maximize your income. Give careful consideration to how you can redesign your company to capitalize on the opportunities surrounding you. Are you leaving money on the table by not pursuing
opportunities to increase your annual revenue?

The unusual circumstances over the past year have mandated that you change to survive. While I know few people will look back fondly on 2020, the new year brings hope, energy, and great opportunity to grow and expand your business. The major difference between prospering firms and dormant firms is a reflection of a malaise in the pursuit of new business opportunities. I challenge you to embrace 2021 as a new beginning for growing your income and client base.