The old Xtrov Realty building on Broadway in Cortez has become the new headquarters for Dolores Sheets, a longtime tax consultant from Lewis.
Sheets has run her business, Dolores Sheets Tax Accounting Solutions, out of her home for several years, but she decided to move to Cortez in early January after Xtrov moved to Montezuma Avenue. But accounting isn’t the only business that will operate out of her new office. Sheets also plans to start offering finance courses from LifeTyme Financial LLC at the end of February, and her daughter, Tawnie, will move her massage practice to the same building.
“I needed a bigger building,” Sheets said. “(It’s) just getting more people to know that I’m here.”
She admitted the building is still very small – about 900 square feet – but she hopes a location on a main road in town will bring in more clients than her home office in the unincorporated town of Lewis. Right now she gets about 250 clients per year, mostly online.
With the new building, she hopes to offer finance classes for business owners, in addition to her regular services.
In her role as a tax consultant, Sheets helps small-business owners navigate the world of federal and state taxes, retirement and healthcare plans. As a financial coach, she will advise private individuals on how to save money in their everyday lives.
Tawnie Sheets used to practice massage at About Face Aesthetics, but decided to move into her mother’s new office because it’s more handicap-accessible. Despite the building’s small size, she hopes to open a sauna there as well.
Sheets holds a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Phoenix. She does not yet have a license for financial planning, so she will only be using material from LifeTyme’s co-founder, Vincent Del Franco, until she gets her own license. Her daughter and one other employee help with the business.
Although Cortez has a few other tax and financial advisers, Sheets said she offers a wider variety of services than most of them do, especially now that she has added financial planning to her resume.
“I give you a written tax plan, and I call my clients every quarter and try to find them different things to save them money,” she said. “So that’s why I’m different.”
The new office is in use, although it still has a sign for Xtrov outside. Sheets will hold an open house on Feb. 23 to showcase the building and introduce LifeTyme Financial. She hopes to have a new sign up by then.
