Jan Zobel is busy learning the details about recent tax law changes. Not only does the long-time tax preparer want to keep her clients informed about how changes in the law might affect them, but she also is updating a tax book shešs written, as well as teaching small business owners about the new laws.
Jan has always seen herself as an educator. Although trained as an elementary school teacher, she has spent little time teaching at that level. Most of her focus has been passing on to adults the skills and knowledge she's learned.
In the early 70s Jan moved to the Bay Area after working as a VISTA volunteer in New York and earning her master's degree at the University of Chicago. As she became acquainted with Bay Area resources, Jan collaborated with 4 other women to create the widely read San Francisco Bay Area People's Yellow Pages. For 10 years Jan edited this residents' guidebook as she shared with readers her favorite parts of living in the Bay Area.
Seeking a more stable source of income, Jan began in 1978 doing bookkeeping and tax preparation. It didn't take long before she realized that the dearth of easily-understood tax information available to small business owners was causing many unnecessary and expensive tax problems.
"After consulting with hundreds of small business owners, I realized they were all having trouble finding the information they needed," says Jan. "Whether in business as a psychotherapist, a jewelry maker, or a restaurant owner, they all had similar questions -- how to set up a recordkeeping system, how to calculate quarterly estimated tax payments, what expenses they could deduct, and how to avoid being audited."
Following her own tradition of passing on the knowledge she has collected, Jan created a 5 hour class called Basic Tax and Recordkeeping Information For Self-Employed People which she has been teaching throughout the western United States for the past 16 years. In addition to teaching through the universities of California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Arizona, Jan teaches at small business development centers throughout Oregon and Northern California. She was part of a small business panel at Mayšs PBWC and has spoken at many other business women's conferences. In recognition of the value of her class to small business owners, Jan was named the Small Business Administrations' Accountant Advocate of the Year in 1983.
It was also in 1983 that Jan sat for and passed the IRS' enrolled agent exam, an exhaustive 2 day test on taxes that is passed on the first try by fewer than 30% of those who take it. As an enrolled agent, Jan is able to represent taxpayers in IRS related matters including audits.
Although attending audits, preparing tax returns, consulting with small business owners, and teaching tax classes filled Jan's time, she had always wanted to write a book to pass along the information that small business owners were seeking. When someone casually suggested that she gear the book to the growing number of women business owners, Jan jumped on the idea. Minding her Own Business: the Self-Employed Woman's Guide to Taxes and Recordkeeping was published by EastHill Press in January 1997. While current in regards to tax laws affecting 1997 tax returns, Jan is busy working on an updated edition containing 1998 changes.
Nationally syndicated small business columnist Jane Applegate praised Minding Her Own Business in one of her columns, writing "Zobel has the ability to explain financial issues in a clear and understandable manner." Others apparently agree as Jan was recently hired by Microsoft to write an article on tax law changes for the software company's small business web site.
Meanwhile, Jan continues to wade through the 800 recent amendments and 300 new provisions of the Internal Revenue Code in order to be able to pass on to others an understandable version of the tax law changes.
To learn more about Jan's tax preparation and consultation services, her upcoming small business tax and recordkeeping seminars, or Minding Her Own Business, contact Jan at her San Francisco office at 415-821-1015, her Oakland office at 510-482-1015 or by e-mail at JanZtax@aol.com.
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