The First Step to Starting a Virtual Tax Practice

We teamed up with Jason Blumer, owner of Blumer CPAs, to write an ebook about starting a virtual tax practice. Jason went virtual in anticipation of a different lifestyle and hasn’t looked back. The first step he recommends in starting a virtual tax practice is identifying your vision and values.

Developing your vision

Developing your vision is exploring the purpose and the reason you want your business to exist. Your vision is essentially an answer to who you want to become as the owner of the business and what you want the business to become. It should be personal and become a part of who you are.

Of course, figuring out who you want to become and what you want your business to become is a difficult decision. Establishing a thought-out, clear vision can be a lot of work. Start by reflecting on these three areas:

Who do you want to be as an owner in 3-5 years?

This answer should be really personal to you. Do you want to be a technical guru serving clients face-to-face or surfing while your team serves your clients? Make those decisions now so you can start heading in the right direction.

What kind of clients and team members do you want to build with?

This question is all about the people you will be working with on a daily basis, and it's very important. Answer this question in light of the personalities you enjoy working with. Think about your current clients and team members too and what you like and dislike about working with them.

What services do you want to provide?

You'll be providing this service day in and day out, so make sure you love it. And if providing the service is something you want your team to do (instead of you) then make sure it's a service you can easily teach and manage.

Your vision is about looking to the future and crafting something that doesn’t exist yet. It’s an existence statement. Try completing this thought in one sentence:

We exist to…

For example, Blumer CPAs’ vision statement is, “We exist to proactively lead clients to equip them for growth.”

Developing your core values

If your vision is your purpose statement, then your core values are how you’re going to live out that vision. Core values are personal values you hold as an owner that you want to incorporate into your business. Think about the following:

What do you value as an individual?

The answer to this could include anything from creativity and innovation to integrity and loyalty—just to name a few.

What do you value as a client or consumer?

When you pay other professionals for their services, what customer experience do you expect to have? What impresses you? What bothers you?

Which values support your vision?

Once you have a list of values you hold, narrow them down to the most important ones that support your vision.

Your new practice should reflect who you are as a person and leader, which includes everything—how you look, what you say, how you operate, how you hire, who you serve, how you’ll price your services, and even how you add new software. All of these things should be aligned with your vision and values.

This post is an excerpt from 5 Steps to Starting a Virtual Tax Practice. You can download the full ebook below.