Tax News By Christopher: 5 Summer Tasks To Help Grow Your Business

Summer is full swing! While many tax pros are soaking up some well-deserved sun after a busy tax season, many are also using this time to grow their business. Whether you’re reading this blog post at the beach, on vacation, or even while relaxing at home, we’ve got good news. There are lots of ways to grow your business during the off-season, no matter where you are or how much downtime you have.

Generally speaking, summer is an excellent time to take care of those business tasks you simply just can’t get to during the busy months. It’s also an excellent opportunity to re-evaluate for next year. What went well? What could be improved? What needs to go to make next year a success for both you and your clients?

Don’t waste this precious time waiting for tax season to rev up again. Here are 5 easy ways to improve your tax business and make the most of your summer.

Create a marketing plan

Get strategic. Hone in on your target audience and how you can reach them. Remember, having any marketing plan is better than no marketing plan. By taking time to plan in the off-season, you’re better able to communicate your services to those who need them most. Review those surveys you sent out, review your marketing metrics, and decide what worked and what didn’t. Refine what worked, throw out what didn’t, and try something new!

Read our Ultimate Marketing Plan Checklist for more on creating a marketing plan for your tax business, or check out our Tax Business Marketing Manual.

Take CE Courses

Are there any courses you’ve been thinking about taking, but just never have time for? Do you have CE credits looming that need to be taken by the end of the year? Why not knock them out in your down time? This way, you’ll keep your skills sharp, learn something new, and satisfy the IRS requirements. Check out our CE Course offerings and bundles.

Go golfing

Seriously! Whether golfing or some other activity, networking is always good business. Your local Chamber of Commerce or other professional groups are bound to have a mixer. Spend some time making connections, offer up your expertise to speak at a luncheon about the new tax laws of the W4. When tax time comes around, you’ll be glad you did.

Here are some more networking tips to try this summer.

Research technology tools

Are there any tasks you just can’t stand doing, or that eat up a lot of time better spent elsewhere? A tech solution likely exists! Spend even just a few minutes here and there reading up on what’s out there. What tools can save you time? Which ones are the best to buy? If you’re skeptical about purchasing before demoing a new solution, many tools offer free trial versions you can become familiar with while work is quiet.

Here’s a good list of tools to check out that will get you started with research.

Make positive upgrades

Install faster internet. Hire and train an assistant. Shred outdated documents to free up storage space. Spend time reviewing things that you need to change. It may not seem like growth now, but small adjustments will make things more efficient later.

We hope you find these tips helpful! As year-round tax pros ourselves, we’re always looking for new ways to improve during the off-season. Have a suggestion that’s worked for you that others should know about? Leave a comment and let us know.