Discussion:Advice welcome?
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NewEnglandCPA (talk|edits) said: | 7 November 2008 |
| Hello everyone.
I'm a CPA who currently has been employed by a regional CPA firm for the last 5 years. Prior to this, I worked at a Big 4 firm. I'm contemplating starting my own practice but am somewhat apprehensive about taking the plunge. I make a pretty decent salary and have good benefits at my current firm. I know that being self-employed is completely different than being an employee of a firm. The success (or failure) of my venture rests completely on my shoulders. I have seen my firm turn away many potential clients because their minimum fee is too high ($1,200 for basic 1040). I feel like I could make a pretty decent living servicing these potential clients. I have to believe that there is enough work at fair prices out there that would enable my practice to be successful. From everything I've seen in the past few years, I really feel that I could build a $200,000 practice relatively quickly (2-3 years) with very little overhead. My only fear is giving up my guaranteed salary and benefits in the short-term in order to build my practice to profitability. Anyone willing to share their start-up stories and successes/ (failures) with the rest of us? Any advice that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. | |
| 10 November 2008 | |
| I think I would keep a steady job for 2009. I will leave it to others on here to opine further. | |
| 10 November 2008 | |
| Good advice Crow, I would do the same. Things will eventually calm down. | |
| 10 November 2008 | |
| There is never a perfect time to make the jump. Make sure you can cover your benefits and have some reserves to live on in the beginning. I started 3 years ago in January. It was a good time to start being on the front edge of tax season. I did some mailings prior to opening and made some contacts with another CPA to do some contract work to fill time. By the second tax season I was over $100,000 in fees and earning as much as I did working for the regional firm I left. With some planning and a lot of prayers it will work fine. I'd be happy to email back & forth if you want more information. barry@greatbendcpa.com
Good luck- Barry | |
| 10 November 2008 | |
| "My only fear is giving up my guaranteed salary and benefits "
I was fired by my first CPA firm 10 days after receiving a stellar employee review. Nothing's guaranteed anymore. My main suggestion would be to develop an alternate income stream to help with cash flow until your billings will meet your income needs. | |
Wkstaxprep (talk|edits) said: | 20 November 2008 |
| wow, $100K confirmed in fees first 2 years and another with a goal of $200k in 3 yrs. VERY IMPRESSIVE!
i thought i was doing good, but i have to look at myself in the mirror and see where i'm missing the boat. one of my main problems is i work 3 days year round for a cpa firm and as luck would have it they are the nicest people i have ever worked for (was miserable at prior cpa firms) and i have guilt issues and dont have the heart to leave them. plus of course, the 3 day steady income during nonbusy season year round is whats really pulling at me. | |
| 25 November 2008 | |
| My wife repeated several quotes I believe she made up while I was working like a dog for someone else. "Those who do not set goals for themselves are destined to work for those who did" and "todays zero maybe tomorrows hero". I set my goal and started with a lot of zeros, we now service over 1200 clients with only a few zero's. There is never a right time, kind of like having a child. | |
Lewisaccounting (talk|edits) said: | 26 November 2008 |
| Taxrescue how did you go about growing your practice | |
Lmcdon9822 (talk|edits) said: | 29 November 2008 |
| Taxrescue, share the love! | |
| 10 December 2008 | |
| My best advice is to continue working FT or line-up a big accounting client before taking the plunge. You can work on growing the practice while falling back on FT pay. With that said, you may have to settle for a lower paying job so you have more free time.
I did taxes on the side for 5 years while working for a national firm so I had a small client base to grow. But the thing that got me to jump into my practice FT was landing a large CFO consulting gig. I signed that contract 5 years ago and today it brings in about $75k per year. Good Luck. It's worth the trip if it's planned out correctly! | |
