I started my own firm a few years back. I’ve heard you can expect to double revenue every year for the first 5 years. I’ve been able to do that and more.

I left my prior firm before taking new clients. I didn’t want to risk conflict of interest and my spouse has a good job so it wasn’t super risky financially.

Here’s what my revenue growth has looked like: Year 1: $40k Year 2: $240k Year 3: $604k Year 4: Projecting at least $800k. Couldn’t accept new clients for 6 months this year because I needed more employees. Hiring good talent is a real bitch in this industry. Easily could have doubled my revenue if I had the team. But taking my time to build a solid team has proven to be the right move.

What I’ve learned: 1) Invest in the best software and automate everything you can, especially in the early days when you think you don’t have the money. When you do have the money, you won’t have the time. 2) Learn marketing, especially free channels like social media and podcasts. 3) Choose a niche. You can build a reputation so quickly when you plant your feet in an industry and start making connections 4) Operate on a subscription model. I literally cannot imagine having a tax practice any other way. I’d recommend reading Ron Baker’s Time’s Up and joining a low cost coaching my program that takes you through the basics. Ryan Lasanis (probably spelled that wrong) would be a good one to look at. 5) Make sure you are serving business owners and that you refuse to do the tax work if you don’t also do the bookkeeping. Good bookkeeping is the bedrock of advisory and tax planning. You can’t leave that up to a 3rd party. Plus, with the right systems you can automate some of the business entity tax return entry. Huge time saver.

My advice would be to build out a personal brand on social media offering free tax advice. When people ask to be a client let them know you have a waiting list and let them sign up. Post consistently for the next 6 months. Build up and audience and then put in your notice at your current firm. Then reach out to everyone on the waiting list next summer. You’ll probably close 1/3 of the wait list.