Ways a Financial Firm Could Make Money on the Side

[buylowsellhigh]

I've been working as a marketing intern at a finance/accounting firm for about two months now and at the moment it is just myself and the president. Luckily she has a very entrepreneurial mindset and is looking to expand the business by taking on more employees and generating more income; and in order to do this she's mentioned a few ideas that she has. Two of them include myself bringing on a few of my friends to do call center work (they would be earning commission) and the other is doing car washes/detailing during down-hours.

She has one large office building that is located on a busy road close to a highway ramp. It has around 6 rooms that are set up to be offices, however, she only uses one at the moment. The other location is a rental property that I am helping her turn into a office, it is in a city that is 45 minutes away from her main office. This building has about 5 rooms. Clearly, we have a lot of physical space here but I'm not really sure how to capitalize from it.

She's pretty much open to anything and I know that there is A LOT of money to be made in financial services but I'm not sure what would be the best route to take. I like her idea of call center work but I don't see that being very lucrative. At the moment she mainly does taxes and financial planning but we are hoping to start securing some government contracts. I've mentioned cryptocurrency advising but I don't think there is really a demand for that in our area yet.

Any input/ideas are welcome. Just given this opportunity I feel overwhelmed since there is soo much that can be done and hopefully external feedback will help. Thanks.

 

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[rc08234]

If i found out my accounting firm was doing carwashes on the side I'd jump ship. If I found out they were advising on cryptocurrency I would deff be interested and would at least sit down and have a discussion about it.

 

[jon.a]

If i found out my accounting firm was doing carwashes on the side I'd jump ship. If I found out they were advising on cryptocurrency I would deff be interested and would at least sit down and have a discussion about it.

BINGO!
I hit car washes and was WTF is she a flake?

 

[TonyStark]

A BAKE SALE

 

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[buylowsellhigh]

If i found out my accounting firm was doing carwashes on the side I'd jump ship. If I found out they were advising on cryptocurrency I would deff be interested and would at least sit down and have a discussion about it.

BINGO!
I hit car washes and was WTF is she a flake?

Those were my initial thoughts as well when she told me about her idea, but atleast she's hungry and thinking outside the box in order to grow her business. I feel like most people in service-type industries like this are so content. Even though she's busy, she's still striving for more.

My main goal is to find something ideally related to finance, that is scaleable.

 

[buylowsellhigh]

A BAKE SALE

I wish. Unfortunately I'm cutting at the moment and being surrounded by dirty food like that would drive me insane :/

 

[TonyStark]

I wish. Unfortunately I'm cutting at the moment and being surrounded by dirty food like that would drive me insane :/

It's not about what you want, but what do your customers want?

 

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[becks22]

I like the cyptocurrency idea. Bitcoin is still new to a lot of people. Offering services regarding that (and other upcoming trends in the industry) might be a way to make additional income. I would narrow down, not widen. Car detailing is not something I would want done at my CPA's office.

 

[buylowsellhigh]

It's not about what you want, but what do your customers want?

Sometimes they don't know what they want until it's put right in front of their faces

I like the cyptocurrency idea. Bitcoin is still new to a lot of people. Offering services regarding that (and other upcoming trends in the industry) might be a way to make additional income. I would narrow down, not widen. Car detailing is not something I would want done at my CPA's office.

The thing that is keeping me from doubling down on crypto is the fact that it is very easy to do on your own. It doesn't take a professional to make an account on Bittrex. Also, most of the geographical area we are in has probably not even heard of it. My college town is located pretty much in the deep south so the demographics are going to reflect that.

 

[Bach89]

Sometimes they don't know what they want until it's put right in front of their faces

Like a muffin... at a bake sale.

 

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[buylowsellhigh]

Like a muffin... at a bake sale.

lolz

 

[G-Man]

Is this serious? I'm so damn confused. Is this an actual accounting firm? Like CPA?

I know some accountants that make side money doing referrals for financing deals. Not sure what kind of legal/ethical considerations there are for something like that, TBH. Tons of folks do it, especially bankers, but it seems to be kind of on the DL.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

The difference between an entrepreneur and a wantreprenuer is focus.

 

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[buylowsellhigh]

Is this serious? I'm so damn confused. Is this an actual accounting firm? Like CPA?

I know some accountants that make side money doing referrals for financing deals. Not sure what kind of legal/ethical considerations there are for something like that, TBH. Tons of folks do it, especially bankers, but it seems to be kind of on the DL.

Yes this is serious and it is an actual accounting firm.

As I mentioned in the OP, we are starting to acquire government contracts but it is difficult for a firm this small to do often.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

Lease out the unused space.

 

[Merging Left]

Is this an accounting firm or an accountant that you work for? You keep saying firm, but there's only one person... she's just a CPA. Which is fine, but keep it in perspective.

What does she specialize in? Tax? Trusts? Financial Planning? General bookkeeping? Auditing?

There's a gazillion ways a CPA can add value to customers, but she should really consider focusing on just one space and becoming a recognized expert in it if she hasn't already. For example:

Tax strategies for real estate investors
Tax planning and entity structuring for start-ups
Financial/Tax planning and Trusts for families
Auditing and bookkeeping for small businesses

There's a CPA over on Bigger Pockets who has, over a few years, established himself as an expert in real estate tax planning. Now he has more clients calling than he can handle. Largely because he published a ton of free content (blog posts) about different real estate-related tax strategies.

His strategy can work for any industry/niche for accounting and tax.

 

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[buylowsellhigh]

Lease out the unused space.

I didn't mention it in the OP but she is already leasing main/big office from someone else.

Is this an accounting firm or an accountant that you work for? You keep saying firm, but there's only one person... she's just a CPA. Which is fine, but keep it in perspective.

What does she specialize in? Tax? Trusts? Financial Planning? General bookkeeping? Auditing?

There's a gazillion ways a CPA can add value to customers, but she should really consider focusing on just one space and becoming a recognized expert in it if she hasn't already. For example:

Tax strategies for real estate investors
Tax planning and entity structuring for start-ups
Financial/Tax planning and Trusts for families
Auditing and bookkeeping for small businesses

There's a CPA over on Bigger Pockets who has, over a few years, established himself as an expert in real estate tax planning. Now he has more clients calling than he can handle. Largely because he published a ton of free content (blog posts) about different real estate-related tax strategies.

His strategy can work for any industry/niche for accounting and tax.

Most of her work is taxes and financial planning. Specifically she does do a lot of IRS tax resolutions for truck drivers who drive past the main office.

Do you have a link to that CPA's post by any chance?

 

[Merging Left]

Brandon Hall, Author at The BiggerPockets Blog

If the link gets removed for whatever reason - Google "Brandon Hall Biggerpockets" and he'll pop up. Really nice guy.

 

[focusedlife]

Maybe have her teach quicken or bookkeeping or something on the side?

Udemy?

Sort of like an incubator class for those that want the skills, but after they graduate can sorta kinda work for her?

Mortgage and Real Estate Brokers seem to do stuff like this all the time.

Dentists have dental assistance trainings, etc.

Hope that made sense.

 

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