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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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