Independence Day
Richard has declared today my own personal Independence Day.
Before any of you panic, no, there’s not trouble at home. Our marriage is strong and my husband is my rock through all the troubled waters life seems to have handed me of late.
Today I moved into a new office.
(for those of you who wonder what I look like first thing in the morning with minimal coffee, there you go)
And I will, for the most part, be practicing alone.
Steve is a great friend and a great partner, but his life has led him in a different direction. He’ll still be “on call” for me if needed, and he’s still working with his client base from his home in Gainesville. The commute was a bear for him, and he was missing precious time with his teenaged daughters. That’s time you never get back. So, we decided that the best thing for us to do was to go our separate ways. The name of the company will still be Early & Smith, but the Early part will be much bigger. I’ve decided to go ahead and sit for the EA exam later this year; even though I don’t need it to represent clients before the IRS, I think it’ll give me a broader base of knowledge to draw upon to serve my clients better. Plus, to be honest, a combo CPA/EA just looks really impressive. 🙂
Since I was alone, I couldn’t afford the space we were in — and frankly our uber-patient landlord had given us a tremendous break on the price from day 1. I investigated the concept of Regus Offices, and I found one not two miles from my doorstep. As it turns out, they were building brand new offices in their existing space, and a small one I could afford was going to be available July 1. I jumped on it.
The office came fully furnished; all utilities are included; I pay a reasonable extra fee for telephone and wired internet service. I have access to a receptionist and office support staff if I need it. There’s a kitchen fully stocked with coffee and tea that can be served to my clients — and someone else cleans up the dirty dishes on a daily basis.
Today we moved in a lot of my office equipment and supplies. The only drawback is that there’s really not of space for file storage — only one relatively small two drawer lateral cabinet. I’ll have to only stash active files there and move files in and out during tax season as clients come in. Not a lot different than was I was doing at the old office, really.
Had to get longer printer cables and a USB hub to handle everything — dang, I didn’t realize how expensive the stupid cables were! But everything’s set up and all I should have to do to get started is load a couple of drivers (I hope).
Here’s pictures after the move in is complete:
And the printer area right across from my chair:
I’ve still got to take in things to hang pictures on the walls. Actually, I’ve got to get some of my certificates framed. 🙂 Maybe that’ll be my gift to myself when I finish the EA exam process.
Baa Baa Knit Stitch 