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by Stephen Parezo

Dallas Ward

March 1, 2006—When Dallas Ward relocated to Florida to takeover the reins of an existing Fiducial franchise, he says it was a case of “being in the right place at the right time.”

After working for a Fiducial franchise in West Virginia for 23 years, Ward purchased an established franchise in September 2004 in Port Orange, FL, that’s located six miles south of Daytona Beach. Just a few years before, Ward and his girlfriend bought a condominium in the area because they are “big racing fans.”

Ward took over a franchise whose clientele runs the gamut from dentists to contractors to restaurateurs. He recently signed on a new client that manufactures screens to protect homes and pools.

Originally from Havertown, PA, Ward graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in biology with his sights set on going to medical school. Though he didn’t get into medical school he got involved in the accounting field where he’s remained for the last 25 years.

Ward admitted that he sort of backed into his first job preparing taxes for a national firm. There he ran across a future employer who taught him accounting systems.

You’ve got to be flexible

After a quarter of century in the accounting field, Ward says perhaps the biggest lesson he’s learned is to remain flexible schedule-wise.

“Being used to a nine to five job, I could have a day planned but it turns out to be just the opposite,” he said. “It changes day-to-day. For me, there’s no set pattern.”

His best strengths are in the area of tax preparation as well as the ability to acquire clients.

“I’ve always had a good rapport with my clients,” Ward said. “That’s evident by the number of clients I’ve had for the last 20 years.” Despite relocating, he’s retained a lot of clients back in West Virginia since staying in touch is not a problem with today’s technology. “The age of the computer has made that quite simple now,” he said.

The Port Orange office has proved to be a popular stop for clients through the years.

“We still get a lot of walk-ins and referrals,” he said. “But cold calling is still a part of it [client recruitment]. That never ends.”

Sign of things to come

A marketing avenue that’s paid huge dividends for Ward’s operation has been advertising in the Yellow Pages. This continues a tradition that began with his predecessor. Another plus is having a “good sign out front” which generates a fair amount of prospective clients to stop in without an appointment.

Located in a strip mall on a busy thoroughfare, the office benefits from having a sign that beckons prospects to pull over and find out more about their services.

“They do see the sign,” he said. “We have accounting and income tax on it and that perks up their interest.”

Ward bought the franchise at a timely moment with his office poised to gain new clients thanks to the real estate boom that’s taking shape.

“This area is going to double in the next ten years,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with growth in Daytona Beach where prices of property are considered cheap.”

Keeping clients on track

Over the years, Ward has helped clients with their daily concerns while keeping them on track to grow their business.

One of his West Virginia clients started out with one convenience store but thanks in part to Ward’s expertise, the owner was able to build a chain of five stores known as Kompak King.

Figuring prominently into planning the expansion efforts was putting together a solid financial base with a good set of books for the owner that presented accurate, detailed information on the business.

Though he’s used to clients walking into his office, it was a different scenario at his former site because he visited clients one-on-one at their business location.

“We actually went out to see our business customers,” he said. “I always like to look them in the eye so we could see what’s going on. I think that’s a big advantage.”

Need greater than ever

With all the new tax rules and regulations that are added each year, Ward believes the need for a company like Fiducial is greater today than it’s ever been. Business owners tell him each tax season that they don’t want to pay any taxes but he has to remind them about their goals.

“It’s not just about saving tax money—the idea is to have a profitable business,” he said.

Ward is there for his clients when they need someone to talk to. Recently, he encountered a situation where a long-time client passed away.

“The family called to say they’re not quite sure of what to do,” he said. “We’ve been working with them in helping decide whether to keep the business or sell it. It’s always a difficult situation.”

In the tax and accounting field, Ward finds that he’s a business counselor one minute and a marriage counselor the next.

“I’ve found you have to wear a lot of hats because it goes a lot farther than tax or book work,” he said.

How is he regarded by his clients?

“Someone easy to get along with who does a thorough job,” Ward said.

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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