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"It is not always easier than working for somebody else," says Echols, "Accountant West Palm Beach however it is more rewarding. You have to be a generalist to pay your overhead, place food on the table and position to meet the requirements of small companies. But you also need to think of what niche you finally want to develop, which means you can satisfy the requirements of those clients better than anybody else. "Fortunately, the marketplace is large enough that you can be a generalist or a specialist. You are able to succeed either way." Choose a location. For most CPAs striking out on their own, the reply to where to locate their offices would be, at least initially, a simple one: home. "The price and convenience made it the easiest way to begin," says Tannenbaum, who founded Carson Consultants CPAs PLLC in his Plainview, N.Y., dwelling in August 2003. He remained there for 16 weeks before the birth of his first child squeezed him out of the home office and into commercial area in nearby Levittown. Most communities allow these home-based clinics, although you should check with your local zoning officer to make sure you're on the strong legal ground. From a marketing perspective, clinic advisor Frank Salman, CPA, of Victorville, Calif., says there's a new breed of clinic emerging for which a home office is not just sufficient but easily accepted by the marketplace. "CPAs working out of the houses generally can gross $100,000 annually, plus or minus, and take home $90,000 of the for a 40-hour week," he states, "and you do not have any employees or the overhead of a workplace. It gives you flexibility, freedom and a generally enjoyable lifestyle. And should you lose one client from 10 because you don't have an office that is okay." Obviously, it's not for everybody. Kober leased commercial space in the get-go, convinced that it would motivate him and also communicate to his customers a feeling of longevity and commitment to his enterprise. "I thought I would have the ability to charge more," he acknowledges. "There's a different expectation about fees when you're hiring someone who works at home" Duffy agrees. "I believe those with dedicated office area do better, especially in metropolitan areas." Clients take you more seriously, and also the location generates some walk-in small business. Select a legal arrangement. Deciding whether to be a sole proprietorship, partnership, C corporation, S corporation or some kind of limited liability entity has significant tax and legal consequences. In the long run, any kind will serve you well as long as it dovetails with your goals. Work with an experienced lawyer to pick and draw the necessary paperwork. Kober picked the simplicity of a single proprietorship for his tax and compilation clinic, although that necessitated "a lot" of liability insurance since it doesn't offer the protection from lenders that accrue supplies. Tannenbaum launched his practice as a professional limited liability company due to the flexibility it provided in allocating income and expenses and in recognizing new members to the clinic. Black setup a limited liability partnership due to its flexibility in making distributions from the company and also to prevent the flat tax rate related to incorporation.