Fiducial | We help your business grow and be profitable.

by Stephen Parezo

Robin Erskine

March 29, 2006—Let’s face it. Anyone that has been in the budget business as a program control branch chief for NASA’s space shuttle program can certainly help map out a fiscal strategy for a small business owner.

That’s what Fiducial franchisee Robin Erskine has been doing ever since he set up shop in Fairfax, VA, in 1995.

The native of Birmingham, AL, earned a degree in aeronautical administration from Auburn University then joined the U.S. Navy where he was a flight officer for seven years. He relocated to Northern Virginia in the mid-1960s to work for the space program in Washington, D.C.

“I was involved with budget development on an annual basis,” said Erskine. “This included management capacity, developing budgets and schedules.” Since it’s crunch time for tax season, he joked that his old job was “not as bad as doing tax work.”

After working for NASA for 25 years, Erskine launched a solo mission by buying a franchise 11 years ago in the busy D.C. suburbs.

“I just always wanted to do something different,” he said. “I wanted to see the civilian side of things and I chose to do it from a business consultant standpoint.”

Over the years Erskine has had several staff members but these days he’s a one-man show. Relishing the close interaction with entrepreneurs, he appreciates the challenges posed by a client’s tax circumstances, even the complications that often arise.

“It’s like putting together a tax puzzle,” he said. “The tax law changes quite a bit so I enjoy being able to help and allow them to concentrate on their business.”

In building his clientele, Erskine has come across some unusual scenarios including one client that raises alpacas, a domesticated South American mammal that’s related to the llama, for its fleece. The venture was started by someone that had a white collar job and was looking for additional income. As a result, they ended up in the farming business and filing farm tax returns which can be quite complex.

Planning for what’s ahead

Erskine approaches tax planning so his clients can save money and fully fund their retirement plans. He also helps them take advantage of the depreciation code which allows them to save current year money. This way they can delay making tax payments but not avoid them.

With this metropolitan area growing by leaps and bounds, Erskine says there’s a lot of people going into business there who could use some professional guidance.

“Most of them don’t have a clue, even the professionals about running a business,” he said. “They really need a lot of help.”

He counsels these start-ups with business planning and assists them in putting together a five-year forecast for their enterprise. For tax planning, he looks ahead and figures out the client’s exemptions and how much they will need to pay.

Asked to assess his strengths, Erskine says he’s a management tax specialist who believes success requires more than just balancing the books.

“You have to organize them [clients] and train them for success by monitoring and evaluating the status of their business,” he said.

Even though he’s deep into another busy tax season, Erskine probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I like the fact that they depend on me,” he said. “It’s a need everybody has—to be helpful and to serve your clients.”

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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