Set your alarm for Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m., CST, and tune in to the tax program about to take place. Ask a question, provide a response and learn about the latest nuance in the tax law. The channel? Over the Internet of course!

Henderco isn't a multinational company whose interests span the globe, a large Internet Service Provider or even one of the popular online services. This is the brainchild of Baton Rouge CPA Bill Hender, whose practice, Hender & Company, has five professionals who work in tax, accounting, and governmental auditing and compliance.

The Time Was Right
What began as a desire to join the Bandwagon has turned into a full-fledged business opportunity … and Hender & Company's weekly tax chat is just the beginning. There's also his sister company that designs Web sites, appropriately called Web Site Creators and his own online music retail store called Pierre's Cajun Record Shop. Although Cajun music is Bill's passion, Pierre's originally was designed as a means to dabble in retail sales, and now brings in annual revenues of over $7,000.

"We just consider what people may be looking for and try to provide that information, service or product," says Bill. "If we put up a governmental auditing site, we felt that traffic would be minimal. Putting yourself in the shoes of the audience has made all the difference because it seems to be the right path."

Bill's journey to the Web began as early as 1987, but it would be nine years before Hender & Company would have its own dedicated site. In the late '80s, electronic filing had just hit the market, and Bill was introduced to the Internet through a service called Genie. Excited about the prospects of publicizing his firm in the new virtual environment, he soon dropped the idea because the format was too static and did not lend itself to the image he wanted to project. Just two years ago in March 1996, he decided the time was right to build his own site because the Internet became more of an interactive means of communications.

Based on his experience and business background, Bill knew he could provide value to clients and others wishing to be on the Internet.

"I viewed the Internet as a major area of commerce and convinced others of this natural link to the CPA profession because of the revenue involved and the accounting systems that should be present to capture and report the revenue," he says. "As CPAs, we're trained to keep up with the latest information when it comes to audit, tax and accounting matters, so our business perspective provides a greater advantage to a company who would usually go to a computer specialist to build a site."

Using Web Site Creators, Bill was able to build pages for some of his own clients while marketing the service to a new client base who only wanted to have a Web site. Examples of these clients' pages may be viewed at his site, but perhaps his most well-known Web site client is the Sinatra family, which had the firm build a guest book for them.

Measurements of Outcome and Performance
Ironically, Bill first thought he would build Web pages for CPAs, but quickly abandoned that idea and concentrated on other professions because he found that most firms were not of a mindset to conduct business over the Internet.

Over the last two years, he and his firm have considered whether the Hender & Company site should be revenue producing, like Pierre's and his other clients, but decided for now to continue promoting the firm site as a communications tool with enhancements like the Tax Chat, a Tax Forum Bulletin Board and a weekly e-mail tax newsletter.

"The Internet provides a level playing field no matter what size you are, and we know our site can compete with the large nationals because we're on the Internet like everyone else," says Bill. "We're not certain what kind of benefit we derive as a firm by being on the Internet. But we're there, and as the technology continues to become even more accessible, we will continue seeking solutions for clients and for ourselves."