Congratulations and good luck, you'll need it. Building a tax practice from scratch is one of the most challenging things you could do. You'll need to make some basic decisions about the type of practice and clients you want.

You'll get more clients faster if you focus on easy & quick returns. These clients will NOT be affluent and you may not want them coming into your home. You'll have to find a way to attract them to you - a storefront in a high traffic area makes it easier to attract these types of clients and returns.

You could do higher level work on more complex returns. These clients/returns will pay much better but they will be harder to attract. One of the hardest things to do is to entice an affluent client away from someone they use and trust.

Make sure to check on local zoning rules too and register for any business licenses you may need. If you're in NYC consider what the neighbors will think if you have a steady stream of strangers coming and going in the evening hours - you could easily get mistaken for something you're not! You may be able to keep the neighbors happy by offering to do their returns at reduced rates since their your neighbors.

Talking about keeping the neighbors happy and creating a good impression with local law enforcement, consider offering a substantial discount over your normal fees to the local beat cops. Nothing says trustworthy like having the local cop on your side.

Talk to other professionals you know and use for other things. Your own lawyer, real estate agent, doctor and dentist may be able to refer some clients to you. You can also ask about posting flyers offering a discount in the local stores.

The easiest way to build a clientele is to buy an existing practice, but this can be costly and risky so be careful. See if there are any older accountants in the area that are coming on to retirement age and see if you can work out a deal with them - maybe they need help or are looking to cut down on the amount of work they're doing.

Search the trade journals for other accountants that are looking for help during tax season. You can't steal these clients but if they'll let you work remotely from home you'll get some experience and extra money while you build your client base.

Find a way to set yourself apart from your competition - we offer concierge type service. In addition to tax prep we also offer tax, estate, business, insurance and financial products and planning - the one stop shop if you will. Several studies have shown that when you can provide THREE separately identifiable services to a client your retention rate will go up dramatically.

Make sure that YOU are easy to find - in the phone book, on the net, in the neighborhood. Prospective clients looking for a new accountant won't do too much work to locate one - they want convenience and ease of finding you.

Talking about convenience, especially if you're in the city - consider using a laptop and making house calls. I did this 30 years ago when I first started - people loved the convenience of me coming to them and most were willing to pay a bit more for that convenience. It also cut down on a lot of second visits because they forgot something.

Good luck, and please keep us posted on your progress and what you find that works and doesn't work for you.

I totally agree with the first post. Remember, you need to register with NY unless you are a CPA or attorney.

Also, I can't repeat it enough - if you see clients at home - they know where you live and think you are open 24/7. I've had clients show up on Sunday, Easter, any day during the summer (including auditors), etc. I could not wait to get out of my home and now, 3 moves later, I own the building and in theory anyway I get to go home at night.

PR talks are wonderful also, and if you are just starting out, you may get a lot during tax season when those of us that have a full schedule can't do them. Talk to your local animals (Lions, Eagles, whatever social clubs) and get some speaking engagements.

Good luck, Helen, EA in PA

Don't neglect networking - this has been my best source of quality clients. Join a local BNI (Business Networking International) group, and check out other business-oriented clubs (I belong to a local Women Business Owner's group). Volunteer to be the Treasurer for these organizations - it gets people thinking of you as a financial guru and gives you credibility.

The hardest lesson to learn for me was knowing which clients to say no to. You CANNOT be all things to all clients.

I have an office, and it often seems an imposition to the client to meet me there, although it is centrally located. I typically end up meeting clients at their place of business or a Panera Bread or something. If I could get more clients into the office it would certainly save me a lot of time.

I want to think all your guys for the great advise your have shared with me. What has worked so far is through the word of mouth. I've been trying my best to give out my business cards out to strangers but to no avail. Networking is something I'm going to look into and at the same time I can be coyed at times.

I have been very selective to the type of clients that I excepted due to the fact that I'm working from my house. I will definitely keep your guys posted to the progress of my home business to the transition to a store front. I'm not sure how many years is going to take but I hope your guys are still there to hear my success story.