For tax preparers & bookkeepers

You've been ready for years.
This is the playbook.

You don't need a CPA. You don't need a fancy degree. You don't need permission. The practical guide to leaving your W2 job and opening your own tax and bookkeeping practice — written for people the industry told they weren't qualified.

Not sure you're allowed to do this? Get the free credential map →

49 pages 12 chapters Instant download 30-day refund
Your Own Books

Your
Own
Books

How tax preparers and bookkeepers quietly open their own offices.

A Practical Field Guide

You are more qualified than the industry has let you believe.

Four myths that have been keeping competent tax preparers and bookkeepers in W2 jobs for too long. Each one is wrong. Each one is fixable in an afternoon.

Myth #1

"I need to be a CPA to open my own office."

Reality

You need a PTIN, an EFIN, professional liability insurance, and a registered business. None of these require a CPA license. Most successful small tax shops in this country are run by enrolled agents, registered preparers, or experienced bookkeepers — not CPAs.

Myth #2

"I need years more experience before clients will trust me."

Reality

If you've been preparing returns or running books for paying clients for two or more years at your current job, you have more relevant production experience than a freshly minted CPA with three returns under their belt. Years of doing the work is the credential that actually matters.

Myth #3

"I'd need $50,000 in savings before I could even start."

Reality

Six to nine months of personal expenses is enough for most readers — typically $20,000 to $35,000. The software stack costs under $80/month. Your home office is a viable practice location. The capital requirements collapsed years ago; the conventional wisdom hasn't caught up.

Myth #4

"I'm not a salesperson. I'd never get clients."

Reality

Your first 20 clients almost universally come from your existing network — family, friends, neighbors, former colleagues — not from cold sales. The 50-conversation campaign in Chapter 9 produces 5–10 clients in the first month with no "selling" required. You ask, they say yes.

A complete, practical playbook. 12 chapters. No fluff.

Written specifically for W2 tax preparers, bookkeepers, and tax professionals who've been quietly thinking about going independent for years.

Part I · The Decision

You Are Already Qualified

The credential question, settled. What you actually need vs. what you've been told you need.

Part I · The Decision

Why The Profession Needs You

The retirement wave, the chains losing clients, the technology floor that collapsed.

Part I · The Decision

The Mindset Shift

From employee to owner: the five specific psychological rewires that make year one work.

Part II · Groundwork

Your Financial Cushion

Six to nine months — not 18. The math, the spousal-income option, the bridge income strategy.

Part II · Groundwork

Credentials, Licensing, Legal

PTIN, EFIN, WISP, state requirements, EA option, entity formation, insurance — all of it.

Part II · Groundwork

Your Skills Audit

Honest inventory: what your job has trained you for, and the five gaps to close before launch.

Part III · Launch

Service Menu and Pricing

The complexity-tiered model for tax. The monthly retainer model for bookkeeping. Specific numbers.

Part III · Launch

Your Tool Stack

The 4-category stack you can run on under $80/month. Tax, books, portal, front office.

Part III · Launch

Your First Twenty Clients

The 50-conversation campaign. Facebook strategy. Google reviews from day one.

Part IV · Practice

Running Clients Like A Real Firm

Onboarding checklist, annual rhythm, communication standards, file naming. The boring systems that scale.

Part IV · Practice

Marketing Without Feeling Salesy

The three channels that work. The introvert's marketing schedule. What to skip in year one.

Part IV · Practice

Growing — or Staying Solo by Choice

The two stable shapes. Your first hire. Why staying small is a legitimate, even superior, option.

The door has always been unlocked. The reason most tax preparers and bookkeepers don't open their own offices isn't that they aren't qualified — it's that nobody told them they could.
From the Conclusion

The exact playbook to go from W2 to your own office in 60 days.

Launch Price

Your Own Books — The Complete Playbook

49-page ebook (PDF), delivered instantly. Plus all the bonuses below.

$39 $59 Launch price
  • The complete 49-page, 12-chapter Your Own Books ebook
  • 60-day pre-launch checklist (every step from "thinking about it" to "open for business")
  • Service tier pricing worksheet (Excel)
  • Sample engagement letter outlines (tax + bookkeeping + advisory)
  • Bonus: 30-day social media calendar (Facebook + LinkedIn)
  • Bonus: Software stack decision worksheet
  • Free lifetime updates as IRS rules and platforms change
Get The Book — $39
✦ 30-day no-questions-asked refund. If it's not for you, email and we'll send it back. ✦

Written by someone who did it.

Most books on starting an accounting practice are written by consultants and coaches. This one is written by a practitioner who has built and sold firms, and still runs one.

It is written for non-CPAs specifically. The credential question is not glossed over — Chapter 1 settles what you actually need versus what you have been told you need.

The numbers are real ones. Runway figures, software costs, pricing tiers, and year-by-year revenue expectations that do not promise five figures a month in ninety days.

Three ways to work with us beyond the book.

The book gives you the playbook. These give you the templates, the cohort, or the personal coaching to move faster with less guesswork.

Tier 1 · Self-Serve

Practice Starter Templates Pack

$147one-time

Every document and template you need in your first six months. Skip the weeks of building from scratch.

  • Three engagement letter templates (tax / bookkeeping / advisory)
  • Client intake questionnaire (tax + bookkeeping)
  • Three-tier pricing calculator with revenue-target solver (Excel)
  • 50-person network outreach script and tracker
  • Onboarding checklist + welcome email sequence
  • 60-day Facebook + LinkedIn content calendar (expanded version)
  • Google Business Profile setup walkthrough
  • Monthly bookkeeping process checklist
  • WISP template (written information security plan)
  • EA exam study plan and resource list
Get The Templates Pack — $147 →
Tier 3 · One-on-One

Private Practice Coaching

$2,500/ month · 3-month min

Personal coaching for practitioners who want one-on-one guidance through the launch and first six months. Limited to 6 active clients.

  • Two 60-minute 1:1 sessions per month
  • Async messaging access (48-hour response, weekdays)
  • Personal review of your pricing, proposals, and positioning
  • Direct line for live decisions (pricing calls, hard clients, choices)
  • Niche-specific marketing and pipeline review
  • Includes the book + templates pack
Request A Consultation →
Oganes “Jay” Chimayan

I built my practice without a CPA license. Here's what I learned.

Oganes “Jay” Chimayan. I'm a CTEC-registered tax professional with an accountancy degree from CSU Northridge, and I have spent more than twenty years in this profession — most of it building tax and bookkeeping firms, growing them, and selling them. I am not a CPA. I never needed to be.

That is the whole argument of this book, and I did not arrive at it from theory. I arrived at it from running the practices. The work that pays — tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, advisory — has never required the license the industry treats as a gate.

I still run a practice today, in the Burbank, California area. I am not writing this from a coaching career. I wrote it because the same conversation kept happening: a capable preparer or bookkeeper, years into the work, quietly wondering whether they were allowed to do it on their own. They were. Nobody had told them.

Frequently asked.

I'm not a CPA. Is this really doable?

Yes — this book is specifically for non-CPA tax professionals and bookkeepers. The CPA license is required for attest work (audits, reviews, compilations) and gives you full IRS representation rights. For tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, and advisory work — which is where the vast majority of the profession's revenue lives — a PTIN and an EFIN are sufficient. If you want representation rights without becoming a CPA, the Enrolled Agent path is more accessible (covered in Chapter 5).

I'm a bookkeeper, not a tax preparer. Does this still apply?

Yes. The book covers both tax-only and bookkeeping-only practices, plus the combined practice that does both. The pricing structure, the client acquisition strategy, and the operational systems are tailored for both paths. Bookkeeping practices have an even lower regulatory bar (most states don't license bookkeepers) and the recurring revenue is more predictable.

What if I'm in a state with strict licensing rules like California or Oregon?

Chapter 5 walks through the specific state-by-state landscape. California requires CTEC registration for paid tax preparers; Oregon requires LTC or LTP licensing. Both are achievable in 3-6 months and the book gives you the path. If you're in a strict-licensing state, factor the credentialing timeline into your launch plan — but it's not a barrier, just an additional checkpoint.

I'm worried about my non-compete with my current employer.

You should be. Most employment agreements in this industry have non-compete or non-solicit clauses, and they vary in enforceability by state. The book is explicit: before you take any specific action, have an employment attorney in your state review your specific agreement. A one-hour consultation typically costs $200-400 and is the most important pre-launch investment you can make. Don't shortcut this.

How quickly can I expect to replace my current salary?

Honestly: most readers don't fully replace their W2 income in year one. They typically reach 60-80% of their previous salary by month 12, fully replace it sometime in year two, and exceed it by year three. The book gives you realistic year-by-year revenue models in Chapter 7. If you read books that promise "$10k/month in 90 days," they're selling you fantasy. This isn't.

What's the difference between the book, the templates pack, and the cohort?

The book is the complete strategy and playbook — many readers execute fully from the book alone. The templates pack saves you weeks of building documents, scripts, and worksheets from scratch. The cohort adds peer accountability, weekly live coaching, and the discipline of moving on a calendar. If you're a self-starter, the book is enough. If you want structure and community, the cohort compresses your timeline significantly.

Is there a refund policy?

Yes. 30 days, no questions asked. If the book isn't what you hoped, email hello@yourownbooks.com and we'll refund the full amount. The templates pack has the same policy. Cohort and 1:1 coaching have separate terms covered during enrollment.

How do I get the book after purchase?

Instant download. You'll get an email within 60 seconds of purchase with a link to the PDF, plus the bonus materials. Nothing shipped. Free lifetime updates — you'll always have the current version.

The door has been unlocked the whole time.

Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for "more experience." You have it. The market is waiting for you.

Get The Book — $39

30-day refund guarantee · Instant access · Free lifetime updates