"Tax Season Sucks..." There, I Said It.

• Renewing your driver's license
• Leaving that little tag on your mattress
• Clicking on the "Agree" button to the Terms of Agreement of Your Bilateral Contract and Trade Agreement with iTunes each time you purchase something online
• Re-writing your health insurance information on every single field trip request that your school sends out

All of these are things that you have to do in order to be allowed to take advantage of certain opportunities in your life on a day-to-day basis. Most of the time, these are things you have to do in order to do something else. (Well, maybe not that mattress thing.)   But, what do the other three have in common?

There was a law written in a galaxy far, far away that requires you to comply in order to participate in the activity in question.  In order to drive without harassment, you must have a valid driver's license.  In order to purchase Candy Crush, you have to agree with Apple's terms (which no one, including Apple, has ever read). In order to send your child to the Peace Center to see dinosaurs dance, you must let the school know that you have insurance and that your child isn't allergic to various carpet fibers in auditoriums.  There's no way around it.  You have to do it.  If you don't there is no driving, no Candy Crush and no dancing dinosaurs.

Do these compliance requirements directly enrich your life?  Nope.

I'm about to blow your mind.  The same goes for tax returns.

Say what?

Tax returns do nothing to enrich your life, or mine.  That is a pretty bold statement coming from the guy who pays for dancing dinosaurs and Candy Crush with the fees paid (in part) from preparing tax returns.

Tax returns simply keep you from being harassed by the IRS or your state's department of revenue.  They have to be completed, filed a certain way, signed in a certain place, mailed to a certain destination, and then acknowledged by the agency in question. Then, if you do anything wrong, go buy some paper and lots of toner....you'll be writing letters for quite a while. 

This, my friends, sucks the life out of more entrepreneurs than you will ever know. 

We, as entrepreneurs, like to think of ourselves as a brave bunch.  After all, we did start a business.  That's a risky proposition and we should be commended for doing so.  But how many times do you, as a business owner, find yourself doing something you don't enjoy....just because it has to get done?  

Why are you doing that?

Because you've always done it.  Because businesses "like ours" do this kind of work.  Because we don't like change and neither do our clients.  

It's time to stand up and say, "I'm done."

You started your business to not only make money and fill the needs of your clients, but didn't you also want to enjoy it?  I bet if you looked at your To-Do List right now, you'd find things on there that have been sitting for weeks.... because you hate doing them. But, they remain on that to-do list because they have to get done.  When will they get done? At the last possible minute, because you hate them.

And that is going to throw a wrench into the OTHER things that are more profitable and more enjoyable....that your clients REALLY value.  

So what's stopping you from saying "NO" to the drudge work and focusing on the more profitable, satisfying, "I could do this all day" type of work?  Could it be....

• Fear of losing business
• Fear of losing revenue
• Fear of paying out more
• "It is just faster if I do it myself, because I am the only one who knows how to do it."
• "I don't know how I would teach this to someone else."
• "I don't trust someone else enough to hand this over."
• A desire to please everyone
• A desire to be "full-service"

It's a little bit of all those things, isn't it?  Would you give that same advice to your child, if they wanted to start a lemonade stand?  Would you say "Now, son, you can start this business, but you won't have any control over the work you do. I know you like lemonade, but some people prefer tea or mango smoothies. You will have to bend and cow-tow to the whims of your market.  You will have to file all your incorporation documents on your own.  And don't forget you sales tax. You'll just have to bite the bullet and do it.  That's how it is, it's not going to be about the lemonade."  

Who in their right mind would start a business if that was the case?

Now, let's take this argument one step further.  What if you could outsource your very own business processes to someone else and focus on the engagements that are more profitable and more enjoyable....those engagements that your clients love so much that they say "It's a joy to write this check to your company each month"....how would you feel?

This arena, my loyal readers, is where Godwin & Associates, CPA exists to consult and advise these days.  We have taken entrepreneurs who were stuck, and helped them move past a point of frustration into one of profitability and ultimate enjoyment with their businesses again.  It's the most gratifying work we have ever done.  If you want to take your business to the next level, have a conversation with us and find out if you can move beyond the heavy sighs and lengthy To-Do Lists. Rip that mattress tag off and say "Enough. I deserve more than this."