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Living 50 Plus 2021

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minutes. After that, her workday is started.<br />

“I don’t allow walk-ins because, I want to spend<br />

enough one-on-one time with each of my clients. I<br />

take each case very serious, and I want to provide<br />

the best help I can.”<br />

During the height of tax season, Edwards stated that<br />

she could be in the office for 10 to 12 hours working<br />

on taxes. The last day of tax season is usually about<br />

a 15-hour workday.<br />

they look away or look unsure in the eyes, I can tell<br />

they aren’t right for the job.”<br />

She urges any college student that aspires to become<br />

an entrepreneur to start by finding someone they<br />

admire. “Shadow them, do paid/unpaid internships,<br />

and let them mentor you,” she advised. “You have to<br />

be all in with your business, no one is going to love<br />

it like you do,” Edwards added. “You can’t expect<br />

others to do all the heavy lifting and you collect all<br />

the riches.”<br />

Every October, Edwards takes classes to prepare her<br />

for the next upcoming tax season. With all those long<br />

hours and hard weekend work, she says it’s just the<br />

love of doing taxes that motivates her to keep going,<br />

even through the rough days. Edwards enjoys the<br />

mystery of not knowing what she’s going to get out<br />

of a client.<br />

“I explain to my clients that I’m here to serve them<br />

the best I can legally; I’m not<br />

here to manipulate them.”<br />

Edwards said that she doesn’t<br />

have a fear of failure, because<br />

she knows what she’s doing. “I<br />

study and research on all new<br />

things, to stay up to date.”<br />

If there is ever something that<br />

she does not know how to do,<br />

Edwards said she’s very honest with her clients with<br />

telling them. No one knows it all, and she admits that<br />

she’s still learning.<br />

“I come from a long line of<br />

entrepreneurs,” Edwards<br />

said, “but I always feared<br />

not having benefits.”<br />

Also, she stated with becoming an entrepreneur,<br />

money doesn’t come in fast or easy, so it would be a<br />

mistake for anyone to go into business thinking that<br />

it’s simple to work for themselves.<br />

“Putting God first is the definition of success,”<br />

Edwards said. “Start, end and keep your day with<br />

Him, and ask Him to guide your journey.” She added,<br />

“Listen to what God is trying to tell you; always<br />

ask yourself, ‘What would<br />

Jesus do?’”<br />

Edwards said she runs her<br />

business strictly on the way<br />

God would do it, fair and with<br />

love. The main goal of her<br />

company is to provide the best<br />

tax service she can to each<br />

and every client. She wants<br />

all her clients to feel free to come back, and continue<br />

to work with her. “Stick to it” is the best quality an<br />

entrepreneur can have in Edwards’ opinion.<br />

When it came to opening her business, trying to find<br />

a safe and clean environment was one of the major<br />

challenges Edwards had to face when first starting<br />

her entrepreneurship. If she had to do it all over<br />

again, she said that she would change some things<br />

in the beginning process. For instance, Edwards<br />

would have created a website first and hired<br />

employees upfront.<br />

“Starting out, I was doing up to 105 returns on my<br />

own,” she revealed. “And with no help, I overworked<br />

myself like never before.”<br />

From that point on, Edwards got some great help.<br />

When picking good employees, it’s the eyes for<br />

Edwards. “I start by asking simple questions, and if<br />

“If you’re a person that gives up easily and can’t<br />

accept failure, this isn’t the business for you,”<br />

she stated.<br />

When it comes to building a good customer base,<br />

word of mouth is the best for Edwards. She says if you<br />

do a good job, you will have no problem. And as far as<br />

that negative comment about being too old to start<br />

something new goes, Edwards’ advice is simply, “Don’t<br />

listen.” She went on to say, “As long you have breath in<br />

your body, your mind is clear and sharp and you have<br />

the will to do it, go do it. Life is for the living,” Edwards<br />

added. “Get busy living, or get busy dying; it’s all<br />

your choice.” <br />

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