We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shawntinique Shepherd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shawntinique, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the early days of establishing your own firm. What can you share?

Starting my firm was the best decision of my life. Was it easy? Absolutely not. I started my firm in December 2018 on the spur of the moment. I was in college and have always been passionate about working for myself and finances. The steps I had to take were figuring out a name, getting my LLC & EIN, and applying for my PTIN & EFIN all on my own without help. Now I do not recommend this way at all because I didn’t even create a business plan or even have any idea what I was doing at the moment even to start my business. I made my logo on an app and everything. I didn’t even have software or knew software existed outside of TurboTax. I joined Facebook groups for tax preparers, asked what was the best software to file taxes, and received a ton of inboxes. At this time, I did know all the tax laws and everything; I just never used professional software. I have done taxes for free for family members since 2013, but I used TurboTax. One of the key challenges was finding suitable systems to fit the business needs that I liked. I also struggled with pricing my services correctly. Something that would have been done differently was to get a coach sooner. I got a coach in my second season, which also helped me expand my services. I advise young professionals to contact a coach or mentor who knows their industry, Research research, and do more research about running a business. I had marketing & entrepreneurship classes since 9th grade in high school, so it was easier for me.

Shawntinique, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I go by Nique The CFO; I went to school and received my bachelor’s in business development & accounting. I got into the business by following my dreams and wanting to change my industry for the better. I wanted to build that trust that companies have for accountants and give them the knowledge to strive in their industry for many years.

The type of services I provide is financial services that will keep your business IRS compliant. So we make sure your business is in good standing as far as taxes (annual, quarterly, sales, etc.), any registrations need to stay compliant and operate legally, bookkeeping services, Fractional CFO Services, business formation, tax filings, budgeting, etc. These are things a lot of business owners struggle to complete. My job is to make it easier for them and scale their business to the next level. I stand out because I genuinely want to see your business grow; I build relationships with my clients that will last a lifetime. I am their financial bestie. I am proud to be able to educate and get them to understand the financial health of their business and its importance.

Most business owners overlook the business’s financial backend due to thinking they can do this themselves. It would be best if you had an expert at the end of the day. Business taxes are not easy for the average person; you must understand the tax laws, credits, deductions, and many other things. Many business owners miss out on so many tax-saving strategies because they believe this task can be completed by themselves. This also goes for any accounting task, especially if you have things such as fixed assets and are expanding and do not really understand Profit & Loss statements or Balance Sheets. My goal is to keep you on the right track with these things.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is continuously educating on social media and word of mouth. Word of mouth in my industry is the best way for me. I ask my client to leave reviews on google, and when they love their results, they tell a friend, and that friend tells a friend.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

The biggest issue people have is funding their businesses. I funded my business out of pocket using my 9 to 5 at the time. This is not the ideal route, but as I stated, I didn’t have a business plan like I should have. All my income for the first two years went back into the business to help it grow. I now help my clients receive some funding to help with their businesses.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.niquethecfo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/niquethecfo
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/niquethecfo
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/niquethecfo