Fifteen years ago, I was an accountant clocking in 60 to 70 hours for work, especially during tax season. Every night when I arrive home, the babysitter already tucks my two kids in bed, always sleeping by the time I come. Making 50K annually was no longer worth it; after paying for daycare and all my other expenses, I am left with nothing. On top of that, I was experiencing failing health. I reached the point that I had to be on IV every single day. I begged the doctor to put the IV on my left hand as I wrote my goals and to-dos, making the crucial decision of starting my own business.  In this Wealthy CEO Accelerator podcast episode, I will let you in on personal details and share valuable lessons I learned of starting from scratch to building a seven-figure accounting firm.  KEY TAKEAWAYS:  ✔️ When I first started my business 15 years ago, nobody was able to help me. I couldn't even find coaches or mentors and was going through it, figuring things out by speaking to other business owners, reading books, and failing and learning on my own.  ✔️ Tapping people in the community telling everybody that I started preparing tax returns was the first best step of marketing my strengths and my business. ✔️ My primary motivation is drawn from my father's experience. He was detained for not paying a huge tax bill due to a piece of bad accountant advice. He was deported from the country because of that. I pursued this kind of service because I am passionate about helping every business owner make sure that they understand exactly what they need to do and not go through what my father did. ✔️ Accountants must take to heart that they are business consultants. They want to make sure that clients are given guidance and informed on what they need to do overall to make sure that they're compliant with their specific tax and financial situation. ✔️ My goal is to help business owners be the smartest person in their own craft and field even if they don’t understand the legalities and the technicalities of their financials. ✔️ It's terrible to start a company just because of money. You need to love what you're doing, so every single day, it doesn't feel like you're working, you're enjoying what you're doing, and then you people pay you because you're so good at it. So just to let you know, like many business owners start their companies because of money, they lose their passion and end up closing their company. ✔️ Hiring is one of the most complex parts because you want to make sure that your hiring person matches your vision, culture, and attitude. People out there are just like coming in, and they lie about their experience or say they know a few things and then don't show up.  ✔️ Not getting a coach and mentor in my early years as I start my business is what stalled my growth. Developing the mind and achieving personal development earlier on would have saved me on costly mistakes and increased results faster. We help clients save at least 10 -15K dollars yearly with our virtual CFO package!  We at Empire Tax Professionals look at things at a whole different level. We bring no-nonsense and straightforward money-saving strategies to help you grow your business like it's ours.  PM us for a free consultation with our tax experts.