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Office Organization Expert: Maria Gracia

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Making time for new clients

Q: I do income taxes. From mid January to April 15 is really busy. I would like to continue to grow and add new customers, but I feel I am close to the limit of how many clients I can serve in this short amount of time. Any suggestions?

A: Too many clients is certainly better than not enough clients, especially in this down–economy. Here are my three recommendations:

1. I'm assuming that you're using the computer to do the income taxes, and not paper and pencil. If you're not using the computer, then this time–saving tool would help you help more customers in less time. Of course, you should also be using the latest tax software to make the job as quick and easy as possible.

2. Do you currently have very strict schedules when it comes to your current clients? For instance, you should be able to group your customers into three categories:

30 Minutes
60 Minutes
90 Minutes

It's important that you stick to the scheduled times for each customer, to ensure that you can maximize the number of customers you can serve on a daily basis. Double–check your time for possible time–wasters that can be eliminated during your busy season.

3. If you really want to grow your business, you may have to seriously consider hiring some help, even if the help is only temporary during the busy tax season months. Being able to delegate some of the work will free up your time to grow your business even more.

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