We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cristina Hass. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cristina below.

Alright, Cristina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

In 2016 I was working for a very large and well-known tax preparation company when I received a call from a Brazilian woman, who got my contact with a friend because she had a problem with the IRS and needed help solving it.

That was my first potential client, but I felt incredibly sorry and guilty that I could not help her because I was working for that large company. At that moment, I understood there was a potential to help people in my community if I had my own business. I decided to quit and started my accounting and tax preparation company, Office Tax Services.

The beginning was very challenging. I had to wear all the hats in the business and tried different marketing strategies to spread the word about my services, such as Facebook, networking events, and craigslist.

Surprisingly, my very first client was for bookkeeping services, and they found me through a craigslist ad.

I was thrilled to have my first monthly client, who trusted their business with my accounting skills. Fun fact, 8 years later, they are still my clients.

On my very first tax season on my own, I helped over 50 families, and they started to spread the word in the community.

Office Tax Services grew organically by word of mouth, offering tax preparation for individuals and businesses, bookkeeping services, and business formation.

In 2018, we moved to an office located at Miramar Rd., and now we serve over 3,000 clients yearly.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Cristina Hass and I am an accountant, tax specialist, and the founder of Office Tax Services.

Office Tax Services is a tax and accounting office in San Diego that offers services in Portuguese and English.

I moved from Brazil to the USA in 2013 at 46 years old, and despite English being my second language, I started my business from scratch in 2016.

Since then, we helped thousands of people and businesses to stay compliant with the IRS and other government agencies. I specialized in taxation for foreigners to help those in my community. There are a lot of details and particularities from foreign aspects of the US Tax return, and I feel accomplished when we can clarify and help others in the community to understand these specific rules.

Aside from tax return preparation, Office Tax Services also offers services for small businesses such as bookkeeping, business formation, payroll, business consultation, etc. We have formed over 300 new businesses since we started, and we have seen many new businesses grow to successful ones.

Now, we are proud to have a team of about 10 professionals to support our clients, help them save money, and simplify the tax and accounting systems for our community in the USA.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

In my field, what I needed to start was a computer and knowledge. So, I started with that, and zero initial capital.

Initially, as I got new clients and received payments for my services, I invested all back into the company. Slowly, I implemented processes and bought the necessary equipment, software, licenses, etc, to take the company to the next level.

Thankfully, I was married when I started my business and didn’t need to worry about supporting myself. This helped me to focus 150% on giving the best services to my clients.

In 2017 I hired my first assistant, and in 2022 we had our best year with a team of 7 professionals.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

We love referrals! Office Tax Services grew organically by word of mouth. We have experienced that there is a higher level of trust when new clients contact us referred by other clients.

Our clients know the quality of our services and that they can count on our support team. They want an accounting firm they can receive support from, and that’s why they recommend our services.

We focus on delivering the best support and results for our clients, and they help our team grow with referrals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.officetaxservices.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officetaxservices/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officetaxservices.sandiego
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@officetaxservices
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/office-tax-services-san-diego
• Other: email: [email protected] phone: 858-247-1680

Image Credits
maria soderman photography photo 1 renata guzman photography photo 2 the glare photography photo 3