Sample-BusinessOwnerInterview.pdf

Running head: ABC BUSINESS & ASSOCIATES INTERVIEW Submission no. 931cf7da-bae0-4a53-b589-5a03f57ac4f4 1

InterviewwithDanABCBUSINESS,OwnerandPresidentofABCBUSINESS&Associates

WithS.W.O.T.Analysis

StudentName:Anonymous

MontgomeryCollege

BusinessName:ABCBUSINESS&Associates,PC

Owner:

DanABCBUSINESS

TypeofBusiness:ProfessionalCorporation

BusinessAddress:

FallsChurch,Virginia22043

YearsinOperation:30

NumberofEmployees:7full-time,3seasonal

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DanABCBUSINESSisthefounder,currentowner,andpresidentofABCBUSINESSand

Associates,asmall,FallsChurch,Virginiabasedfirmofcertifiedpublicaccountants.ServicesprovidedbyABCBUSINESS&Associatesincludetaxpreparation,estateplanning,financialservices,businessvaluation,litigationsupport,forensicaccountingandmore.DanisaCPAhimselfwhostartedthebusinessin1987afterdevelopingafaithfulclientbaseasanemployeeofanotherfirm.ABCBUSINESSandAssociatesworkswithindividualsandfamilies,professionaladvisors,andothersmallbusinesses.

ABCBUSINESS&Associatesisaprofessionalcorporation(PC).InthestateofVirginia,aprofessionalcorporationiscomprisedofshareholders,isbasedonsharesofstock,andusuallypaysabusinessincometax.APCcanelects-corporationtaxstatusorotherwisemayfacedouble-taxation.Doubletaxationoccurswhenearningsaretaxedtwice,firstatthecorporatelevelandagainatthepersonallevel(Collins,2010,p.195).PCsprovideliabilityprotectionfortheirshareholders(Steinberg,2017),thatis,shareholders(owners)cannotbeheldpersonallyliableforthedebtsandobligationsofthecorporation(Collins,2010,p.193).

ThemissionstatementofABCBUSINESSandAssociates,whichcanbeeasilylocatedontheirwebsite,reads:

Weareaproactivelocalaccountingfirmprovidingawiderangeofserviceswithintegrity,honestyandacommitmenttoexcellence.Weareanaggressiveadvocateforourclients’taxsavingsandempathetictoalloftheirneeds.Weareagrowth-orientedfirmthatvaluesouremployeesandseekstoprovideopportunitiesfortheirpersonalandbusinesssuccess(ABCBUSINESS,2015).

Accordingto“MissionandVisionStatements”byMindTools.com,amissionstatementshoulddefineanorganization’sprimaryobjectivesanditspurpose,itshouldbesetinthepresenttense,itshouldexplainwhythebusinessexists,anditshouldbeshort,clear,andpowerful(MindTools.com).ABCBUSINESS&Associates’missionstatementfulfillstheserequirements:theirstatedpurpose/objectiveistoprovidearangeofserviceswithintegrity,honesty,andexcellence,advocateforclients’savings;itiswritteninthepresenttense;italsousespowerfullanguagelike“success,”“commitment,”and“excellence.” Whenaskedwhatmadehimwanttoopenhisownbusiness,Danexplained:

Becausethesky’sthelimitwhenyouhaveyourownbusiness;there’snolimittohowmuchyoucanmake,andyougetmorecontroloverhowmuchyoumake.Ifyou’rewillingtoputinthehardwork,itcanbeveryprofitable.Ifyouworkforsomebodyelse,evenifyouworkhard,youmightnotgetanyrecognition,also[sometimes]you’retryingtofigureouthowtheybecamethebossinthefirstplace…IfeltlikeIcouldhavemoreopportunities.

InCollins’book,AnIntroductiontoBusiness(2010),sheexplainsthataccordingtotheSmallBusinessAdministration,amongthetopreasonsforstartingabusinessaretoachievefinancialindependence,toaccommodateadesiredlifestyle,andtobeyourownboss(p.216).ItseemslikeDanhadthesecommonlysharedideasinmindaswellwhenhemadethe

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decisiontobranchoffonhisown–hewantedmoremoney,tohavemorecontrol,andtoachieveadesiredlifestyle. Fromhis30yearsasabusinessownerandworkingwithothersmallbusinessprofessionals,Danbelievesthatthemostcommonreasonthatcausesothersmallbusinessestofailislackofpreparationfortheleantimes,eitherbecausetheydon’tstartoutwithenoughfundingorbecausetheydon’tgeneraterevenuequicklyenough.Heexplained:

Alotofpeoplestartabusinessthataren’treadyfortheleantimes.Whentheyfirststartabusiness,theycanspendalotoftimetryingtogeneratebusiness,tryingtogetthebusinessofftheground,theyareworkingveryhardbutthey’renotmakingalotofmoney.So,theyhaven’tnecessarilypreparedtogetthroughthefirstcoupleyearswhenthey’renotmakingverymuch…SoIguessoneofthemainreasons[smallbusinessesoftenfail]istheyaren’treadyfortheinitiallowstart.

However,hedidoffersomeoptimismaswell:“Ifyoucanstickitoutthroughthefirstfewyears,eventuallyyou’vegotpeoplecomingtoyouandyou’vegotareputation.”ThiscoincideswithwhatCollinsexplainsinAnIntroductiontoBusiness(2010)–waystosucceedinowningabusinessincludegettingadequatefundingtogetyourbusinessthroughthestartupphase(whichcanlastoverayear)andmanagingthatfundingeffectively.Thetextexplainsthatthirdofsmallbusinessesgooutofbusinesswithinthefirsttwoyears,morethanhalfofsmallbusinesseshaveclosedbytheendoftheirfourthyear,and70percentdonotmakeitpasttheirseventhyear.Somecommonreasonsforfailurenamedbythebook,whichalsosupportDan’sideas,includebeingunderfunded–thatis,theownerborrowsenoughmoneytosetupthebusinessbutdoesn’thaveenoughextracashtooperateduringthestart-upphase(p.256-259).ItseemslikeDan’sexperiencehasgivenhimalotofwisdomsurroundingwhatleadstosuccess. Anotherkeytosuccessforbusinessesishavinganadvantageovercompetingfirms.DanbelievesABCBUSINESS&Associateshasthis.Hesaystheadvantagehisbusinessholdsisacombinationofaveryknowledgeableandexperiencedstaff,providingapersonalizedservice,beingeasytoaccess,havingaquickreturntimewhengettingbacktoclients(2-3days),andkeepingtheirpricescompetitive.Partoftheeaseofaccessthatclientshaveistheireasy-to-usewebsite,ABCBUSINESSCPA.com,whichincludeslotsofinformationaboutthebusiness,includingapageonmultiplewaystocontactthem.DanexplainedthathetriestoonlyhireexperiencedCPAs,whichcanbeveryhardtofindinthatarea,buthebelievesthatiswhathelpsgivehisbusinessitscompetitiveedge.Accordingtothesupplyanddemandmodel,bytryingtokeephispricesrelativelylow,or“competitive,”itwilltheoreticallyhelptoincreasethedemandoftheservicesheoffers(Collins,2010,p.28).Furthermore,becauseABCBUSINESS&Associatesdoesnothaveamonopolyonfinancialandaccountingservices,theymustkeeptheirpricesclosetothoseofotherfirmstocompetewiththem(Collins,2010,p.33-34).DanbelievesthiscompetitiveedgethatABCBUSINESS&Associateshashelpstocontributetohisbusinesshavingapositivereputation.

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WhenDanwasaskedabouthowhefeelsaboutthereputationofABCBUSINESS&Associates,hesaidhebelievesitisgood.This,hebelieves,isindicatedfirstlybythefactthathehasbeenabletokeephisbusinessaliveandfunctioningforthirtyyearsnow.Also,hesaysheseesalotofpositiveonlinereviewsandgetsalotofreferralsfromhiscurrentclientstonewclients.Oneofthekeystothissuccesshasbeenofferinggoodcustomerservice.Danbelievesthemostimportantruleofprovidinggoodcustomerserviceistobecompassionateandempathetictowardstheclientsandtheirneeds–showingthemthatthebusinesscaresandthatthestaffistryingtheirbesttoprovideagoodserviceatagoodprice.Thisconceptcouldbesaidtofallunderpracticinggoodbusinessethics,specifically,treatingcustomersfairlyandcommunicatingcorevaluesofcompassionandempathytoallmembersofthebusiness(Collins,2010,p.58)sothattheyarecarriedoutwitheachandeveryclient.WecanseefromtheexamplegivenwithABCBUSINESS&Associatesthatbeinganethicalbusinessandconveyingittothecustomerscanhaveaverypositiveimpactonthebusiness. AlthoughDanhasexperiencedgreatsuccessthroughthecreationofABCBUSINESS&Associates,hedoesfeelthattherearesomedisadvantagestooneowningtheirownbusiness.First,hesays,“yougenerallydon’tworkjust40hoursperweek,youcan’tjustgohomeandforgetaboutitlikeyougenerallycanbeinganemployee.Withyourownbusiness,you’realwaysthinkingaboutit.Thebuckstopswithyou,soyoucan’tjustgetsomebodyelsetoworryabouttheproblems.”Thisparallelsanegativeaspectoutlinedinthetextbookaboutbeingabusinessowner,thatis,“stress:Asabusinessowner,youarethebusiness.There’sabewilderingarrayofthingstoworryabout—competition,employees,bills,equipmentbreakdowns,customerproblems.Astheowner,you’realsoresponsibleforthewell-beingofyouremployees,”(Collins,2010,p.234).AnotherdisadvantagethatDanpointedoutisthat“alotofpeoplethinkthatyoucanbeyourownboss,butinreality,yourclientsareyourboss,andinaway,youremployeesareyourboss.Insmallbusinesses,youalmostdependonyouremployeesasmuchastheydependonyou.Eachemployeehasanimpactonthefirm.”Although,asabusinessowner,technicallytheremaynotbesomeoneaboveyouinthechainofcommandwhoisincharge,youarereallynotyourownbossaslongasyouaretryingtosucceed,becauseyoudependonrevenuefromcustomersandyoudependonemployeeswhocarryoutthejobofthebusiness.Thiscouldbearudeawakeningforsomewhostartupabusinessandtrulywanttodowhatevertheywant,whenevertheywant.InAnIntroductiontoBusiness(Collins,2010),“independence”isstatedasanadvantageofowningyourownbusinessbecause,“asabusinessowner,you’reyourownboss.Youcan’tgetfired.Moreimportantly,youhavethefreedomtomakethedecisionsthatarecrucialtoyourownbusinesssuccess,”(p.233).Thisispartiallytrue,butwecanseefromDan’sadvicethatyourlevelofindependencemaynotbeasgreatasonehopes,anditiscontingentonyourdesiredsuccesslevel. Fromtheinterview,itisapparentthatDanABCBUSINESS,founderandpresidentofABCBUSINESS&Associatesknowsthekeystoasuccessfulsmallbusiness.ManyofhisideaslineupwithcommonbusinesspracticesandtheoriesasoutlinedinKarenCollins’AnIntroductiontoBusiness.Inthenextfiveyears,DanexpectslittlechangetocometoABCBUSINESS&Associates,buthehopestoseerevenuegrowbyabout30-40%.

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References

Collins,Karen.ExploringBusiness.AdaptedVersionofthe2010.Print.Adaptedversion

licensedundertheCreativeCommonsby-nc-sa3.0licenseandavailableviatheUniversityofMinnesotaLibrariesPublishingthroughtheeLearningSupportInitiative.

ABCBUSINESS&Associates.(2015).CompanyProfile:MissionStatement.RetrievedOctober

06,2017,fromhttps://www.ABCBUSINESScpa.com/certified-public-accountant-virginia-profile/

MindTools.com.(n.d.).MissionandVisionStatements:UnleashingthePowerofPurpose.

RetrievedOctober06,2017,fromhttps://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_90.htm

Steingold,DavidM.(2017).HowtoFormaProfessionalLLCinVirginia.www.nolo.com.

Retrieved9October2017,fromhttps://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-form-professional-llc-virginia.html

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Strengths

1. Strongbusinessethics2. Experiencedstaff3. 30yearsofoperation4. Location(relativelyhigh-income,

populatedarea)5. Easilyaccessible6. Widerangeoffinancialservices7. Flexibilityamongtypesof

clientele

Weaknesses1. Maybesubjecttodouble-taxation

dependingontax-filingstatus2. Websiteisnotentirelyup-to-date3. Underwhelmingonlinesocial

mediapresence4. Onlyahandfulofonlinereviews5. Havingexperiencedaccountants

coulddrivepricesup,adeterrenttosomeclients

6. Onlyonelocation7. Pricesmaybeinlinewiththe

high-incomeareainwhichthebusinessislocated,butthepricesmayseeminflatedtoout-of-townclients

Opportunities1. Expansiontootherlocations2. Additionofotherservices(legal,

etc.)3. Usingtheinternettoadvertise&

establishagreaterknowledgeofthefirm

4. Increasinglycomplextaxcodescouldbringthemmoreclients(lesspeople/businesseswhoknowhowtodotheirowntaxes)

5. Becauseshareholdershavelimitedliability,theycantakegreaterrisksasabusinessandtrynewthings

6. HiringexperiencedCPAscanaddtheirclientlisttotheABCBUSINESS&Associatesbusiness

7. Gettingajumpstartoncryptocurrencyculture

Threats1. Increasinglycomplextaxcodes

couldmakeemployees’jobsharder

2. VerysmallpoolofexperiencedCPAsinthearea(accordingtoDanABCBUSINESS)

3. Competitionfromotherfirms/CPAs

4. Businessincometaxes(dependingonfilingstatus)

5. Newcryptocurrencies(bitcoin,etc.)whichmaygrowinpopularity(couldbeathreatifthebusinessdoesnotadapttothis)

6. ProgramslikeTurboTaxandH&Rblock

7. Rapidlyadvancingtechnology(MSExcel,onlinesupport,etc.)couldeventuallyrenderfinancialserviceslessnecessary