Smart Tax Featured in Hartford Business Journal

Nick Rizzi, CEO of Smart Tax, was recently interviewed and featured in the Hartford Business Journal. The article highlights the plans of the Smart Tax franchise expansion into the Hartford area. The article also includes a great deal of information for potential franchisees, including the investment costs and contact information. A sample of the article is below along with a link to the article in its entirety.

New York Tax Prep Franchiser Eyes Hartford Market
By Becky Bergman

While many businesses are slowing down due to the rocky economic climate, Smart Tax, a tax preparation franchise concept founded in 2006 by financial whiz Nick Rizzi, is just starting to speed up.

And the Greater Hartford area is squarely in the crosshairs of its expansion strategy.

The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based tax preparation service grew to three locations before Rizzi decided to expand the business via franchising. That was in November. Seven franchises have been added since and CEO Rizzi, who still manages the original three sites, says Smart Tax is on pace to develop 100 locations nationwide by tax season 2012.

The entrepreneur is aggressively eyeing the Hartford market, where he wants to launch 20 new locations in the next two to three years.

Rizzi spent more than 16 years cutting his teeth in the industry working for H&R Block before he began to explore the idea of entrepreneurship.

“When I was looking at starting my own business several years ago, I wanted to do something that was recession-proof,” said Rizzi. “I also wanted to specialize in something that was solid. You can count on death and taxes no matter what kind of economy it is.”

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Smart Tax Featured in Financial Advisor

Smart Tax was recently featured in an article entitled "Recession Weary Advisors Branch Out" in the Financial Advisor. The article talks about the option to brokers looking for a new path in the financial sector and highlights the Smart Tax franchise. Nick Rizzi, CEO and Founder of Smart Tax, and Joesph Fontana, Vice President of Franchise Development, were quoted in the article. Below is an annotated version of the article with a link to the full article.

Recession Weary Advisors Branch Out
March 02, 2010

Financial advisors who want to be independent are becoming more open to the idea of branching out into areas that are recession proof, such as tax preparation, according to two advisors who have successfully taken that route.

“Financial advisors are shell shocked and are looking for other venues,” said Joseph Fontana, vice president of franchise development for Smart Tax, a tax preparation service founded in 2005 and headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y. with offices in New Jersey and Texas. “I firmly believe that one new venue can be tax preparation. The feedback I am getting from other financial advisors to that idea is phenomenal.”

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