Networking

Some people would rather be their own boss, and CPAs are one of the lucky professions that have the option to do so. But before you make the big decision to strike out on your own, you should be aware of the sacrifices that you may have to make before your practice becomes successful enough to maintain your current quality of life. Here are a few things that Entrepreneur cautions you might have to give up for a significant amount of time:

Despite the stereotypical portrayal of accountants in popular media as math-obsessed anthropomorphic automatons, a large part of a CPA’s job involves interacting with clients and other people. So while it is important for you to have the technical skills to prepare taxes, perform an audit, or whatever your chosen specialty is, it is also important for you to develop your emotional intelligence to be the best CPA you can be. Here are some tips from Inc on how to do so:

Burnout is one of the worst things that can happen to any working professional, and CPAs are no different. Between studying for the CPA exam, busy season, and the other sources of stress that come with the territory, it can be easy to feel exhausted, disinterested, and irritable, which can lead to poor performance. Some things that lead to burnout are difficult to control, or just out of your control entirely. However, there are some behaviors that you can identify and change to address burnout potential, according to Forbes:

If you’re not blessed with boundless confidence, it can be difficult to summon the courage necessary to voice an idea or opinion to your colleagues or boss. After all, what if you think your thinking is sound, but they think it’s stupid? But how many times have you sat quietly while a colleague proposed a very similar idea that went over great with the rest of the team? Here are three good reasons from The Daily Muse to speak up when you have something to say at work: