Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Are you a one-man startup band?  Do you ever ponder the idea of hiring some help?  What are the opinions of working alone verses splitting the duties (and the profits)? 

This question is a relevant one for me as I think about hiring an accountant verses doing my own taxes...

Seems to me hiring the right accountant is one of the most critical decisions made in business startup and growth.

Before spending much time or money in a new business or a new project, it`s a good practice to bounce the idea off a good CPA.

A good accountant won`t tell you if your idea is good or bad. In our free market economy the market renders the final decision. But he or she will help you see the financial implications of what you want to do, and whether or not you need to see a lawyer. And a good accountant, usually the owner of a small practice who learned his trade in a large firm, has a entrepreneurial spirit that is contagious.

A bad accountant can kill your idea in a million little ways.

Any accountant can help you leverage your time by preparing your tax returns, and for most of us that`s money well spent. But beware of leveraging your time and inviting a spirt-killer to have a regular opportunity for a free shot at your heart.

This my observation, based on experience with hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners since 1979.

 

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John S. Wren, MBA.+
Ben Franklin`s Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
Ideas into action since 1727.+
www.JohnWren.com+
JohnSWren@aol.com+(303)861-1447

  Hi Alison,

 I am starting over as a "One Man Band" operation but the one thing I carried over from my previous business was my bookkeeper. I contracted with her for 15 years. She would help the sales tax and payroll and I could get work out the door. If you detest doing taxes and can afford it, I say it can`t hurt. It only comes up once year (or quarterly) and is not long term commitment.

 Employees on the other hand is where you have to have an ongoing level of commitment and your business will tell you if you need help.

Deck 

Seems to me there`s a ratio between how important is a set of tasks or skills, and how well you can do those things. I know in my case, book-keeping and accounting are fundamentally critical, yet I totally hate doing it and I`m not that good at it. Ergo, it makes sense to hire.

On the other hand, washing the dinner dishes isn`t at all critical to the business, but I`m very good at dishwashing, so I wouldn`t hire that out. I`d suppose that all the other aspects and skills of running a business could be formulated along the same lines.

The only qualifier would be the relationship between a skill or capability and the foundation of the business. So if my business is to sell blown-glass sculpture, if I hire that out, I`d likely lose control over the business. That`s not to say that when orders exceed my own capability I wouldn`t hire in some help. It`s only that I wouldn`t farm out the core skill of the business during the startup phase.

Alison,
Your best bet is to hire an accountant. There are so many loop holes and tax breaks that you may not be aware. For example; how do you claim your start up cost? What can you deduct as a business expense and what you can`t.
There are so many benefits in having a professional accountant look at at your books and clean up as much mess that you`ve made. (not that you can`t do it on your own). When I first started my business I had the drive ambition, and time keep Quickbooks up to date. But as the business grew it was overwhelming to keep track of everything, including eating lunch at 12:00 pm and not having breakfast, lunch and diner at 9:00 pm or when ever I remembered I hadn`t eaten.
If you are at that point in your life where you need the extra muscle, don`t hesitate to hire someone. In the long run, you will notice that splitting profits is not so bad after all.

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

Thanks for the great advice.  I think I am going to bite the bullet and hire an accountant.  I have a more complex return this year and some potential writeoffs so I will want to maximize those.  Also, I want to support the one-man-band accountant to whom I was referred by my one-man-band freelance- writing friend.  I like to support my fellow entrepreneurs, especially those who are working for and with themselves.  This is the essence of all startups, isn`t it?  A great idea stirs within us and then comes to fruition in the form of creating a business.  And hopefully, at some point, we have grown enough and have to ask ourselves: do we need another person to help us screw in that lightbulb? 

How many Zen masters does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

2. One to screw it in, and one to Not screw it in.

Hi,

This is most likely going to sound stupid (and obviously show you that I`m definately a beginner) but with accountant`s... are there particular accountants that work in particular fields?? For example (because I know that what I wrote probably doesn`t make any sense); if I was looking at starting a bussiness in the beauty industry,can I call on any accountant to understand what my particular bussiness needs are, compared to that of someone with a Bakery as a bussiness???

Nothing is a stupid question! :-D Only repetitive questions are annoying.

Accountants definitely specialize in fields and areas. When you`re shopping for an accountant you definitely want to talk with them first about the type of business you have, how big it is now, and how big you want it to become. Then ask for references to other clients who have businesses relatively similar to yours. Most important is if you have a good "feeling" when you`re talking with the accountant. They`ll be handling your most personal matters, after all.

Thanks Craig!

I will definately have to look into this further...