[kmwgrace]

Currently, I’m working at a well-known tax prep firm, and I have that lined up for next tax season as well. Pro – it’s great experience, and I have back-up from my coworkers who are all more experienced than I am. Cons – no CPA so I’m not getting the hours, and the commission I’m making is less than I would make if I were doing taxes on my own, and they charge a lot more!

Also I am graduating with my Master of Taxation in May. YAY! I’m also finishing up the Becker review course and, as it says in my siggie, I’m planning (hoping!) to pass all 4 sections before the end of this year.

My husband learned of a business opportunity that we could both work in, but it is not accounting. It is something that intrigues me, I could do out of our home, and I think I would enjoy it. My dilemma becomes, do I agree to this venture and go all-in and just be a tax preparer during tax season, maybe even hang out a shingle after I get another year of experience under my belt? Or do I kill myself for the next several months, shell out the $1k or so to take the exam, and go to work for someone else so I can get my license?

This business opportunity would be in addition to my husband’s full-time professor job, and it would be something we could both do into retirement. I’m so torn. Advice welcome!!!

~ Kate... MTX!
CPA exam on hold while I homeschool my 6 year old!

[Minimorty]

Is this a “business opportunity” where all you need to do is buy a $5,000 starter kit and “soon you will be making 6 figures in the comfort of your own home while working only 15 hours per week.” lol.

Really it depends on your appetite for risk and where you stand financially. If you want a steady, stable income for the rest of your life, then I would continue moving forward with the CPA exam, gaining the experience under a CPA to get licensed, and having the flexibility to do whatever you want after that. If you have a high tolerance for risk and you could live without the money assuming this venture goes poorly, then that is a decision you'll need to make.

[Anonymous]

Almost without exception, most work from home jobs are nothing but schemes…so be aware. The only work from home opportunities that generally work are when an entrepeneur just starts a business at home.

I've always thought of it this way….if a business is so lurative that I could make money at home doing it (legitimately, with my clothes on…oh who am I kidding, clothes on or off :D) then why would I teach you how to be competition. Scams almost without exception.

I say do the exam.

[kmwgrace]

lol Mini, no it's not a scam and there is minimal financial risk – about $500.00 up front for training. I'm smart enough not to believe that you get something for nothing – we'd have to do marketing, advertising, etc but with the easy accessibility of social media even that would be very low-cost. We would get a web page that the parent company would pay for as soon as we complete the training. It's an industry my husband worked in prior to going back to graduate school so the learning curve for him would be slim to none.

I'm definitely leaning toward getting licensed. I'm just trying to figure out how to do both without losing focus on studying for the exam. Hubby knows he'd have to basically run the business during tax season – that's actually a big concern because he's got a research agenda that he needs to pursue in order to get tenure. Thanks for replying, I was starting to hear crickets. lol

~ Kate... MTX!
CPA exam on hold while I homeschool my 6 year old!

[Minimorty]

Hmm, still sounds pretty suspect at best.

Anyway, if your husband is going for his tenure and you are on your way to becoming a CPA, then why the need for this random venture? Stay the course and you will be rewarded for your hard work and dedication.

[Anonymous]

If they want any money up front for anything (paperwork, training….especially TRAINING) then it is a SCAM.

No one will teach you to compete against them for any amount of money so if they are offering to “TRAIN” you for $500 it is a scam. Trust me. Believe me. Listen to me. Coke doesn't sell it's recipe. Silly putty doesn't give away it's recipe for a meager training fee. If it were real and so lucrative, they would be doing it themselves and jealously guarding their secret with noncompete clauses.

It's a scam.

[kmwgrace]

Well, it's a service that we use a lot, that costs quite a bit when we go through a third party. We are planning some things out in advance, and if we were in this business not only would it save us quite a bit if $ but we could make some as well – more than enough to cover our initial investment. That's just with family plans we know are arising. If we market to friends and other family, not to mention the community at large, there's potential to make a decent amount of income there. We are making headway on some financial goals and we would like to make more – we have a boatload of student loans to pay down and the sooner we can unsaddle ourselves of those the better off we'll be. This would help.

Again I'm not saying I'd be sitting on the couch watching soaps & eating bon-bons while the money rolls in, I would actually be WORKING. I sure do appreciate the input, thanks. 🙂

~ Kate... MTX!
CPA exam on hold while I homeschool my 6 year old!

[kmwgrace]

Well, the hubs was doing a little more research into our potential business venture, and when he read the fine print he realized it's going to cost more than what we initially thought. So, if we decide to do it, we'll obtain the necessary licensure & training on our own rather than going through this other company. Again thanks for all the input.

~ Kate... MTX!
CPA exam on hold while I homeschool my 6 year old!

[Anonymous]

@kmwgrace: I also work for a well-known tax prep firm. Just passed my last exam (!) and have a full-time job in addition to tax prep. It was difficult finding a CPA to sign off on my experience (most of us are EA's) and you may have the same hurdle. You must be early in your tax career if commissions are low. I am now in tax season 8 and have built up a nice clientele and commissions are quite fair. Certainly not as high as someone on their own, but I don't have to deal with all the headaches of running my own business. One other pro of working for the man: Free CPE.

Stick to your original plan, don't allow yourself to be distracted and you'll be glad you did!

[Anonymous]

Good young lady! 😀

I think the day of these multilevel marketing schemes are over. It's a really great way to lose friends and family members when you start ‘marketing' to them. In fact, I had a tax client who called me mid-year (I'm thinking she wanted to talk about her quarterlies) but no she wanted to ‘put something in front of you'. I inquired more, turns out she wanted to try to recruit me into one of these multilevel marketing schemes….sadly one that preys on religious people because it is mixed in some theology angle. I never got an answer as to what she wanted from me–whether an analysis of the business ‘opportunity' or trying to get me involved. So she didn't come back this year after I gave her my honest opinion.

Back in the day of the Sears catalog, these catalog based MLM schemes gave an entrepreneur with some moxy a great opportunity. But in the day of Amazon, I can order what I want in seconds (no meeting, no coordination of schedules) and not have to deal with the limits of the catalog options.

If it is truly a good idea, do exactly like you said and do the business yourself. Marketing to friends and family is a good way to lose them and paying up front for training is always a scam. Good decisions!

[kmwgrace]

I would not market agressively to anyone (especially friends and family), it's not my style. I'd just make people aware that we're in this particular field and if people need help we're available. It's not a multi-level pyramid marketing thing where you try to recruit others into the business either. I'd have no interest in that whatsoever. Mostly it's a way to save money on services we use anyway and maybe make some extra $ on the side. But yeah, after doing further research last night we discovered that we can achieve basically the same goals on our own without shelling out the $ for the training.

~ Kate... MTX!
CPA exam on hold while I homeschool my 6 year old!

[kmwgrace]

@Cindy I would love to know how you got your hours signed off. Feel free to email me at kmwgrace at gmail dot com – if you're willing.

Thanks!

~ Kate... MTX!
CPA exam on hold while I homeschool my 6 year old!

[Author]

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