We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Viviane Hagopian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Viviane below.

Viviane , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

Viviane hopes her legacy will always be “the friendly accountant, who truly cared about us.” She wants to leave her company to her daughter and pass on the friendly practices and culture she has built over the years. She truly hopes people will remember her as the genuine woman who really put an effort to help others.

Viviane , 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?

Viviane knew accounting was her calling when she was pursuing her bachelors and paying her way through college. She was determined to succeed and chose accounting because she saw it as a challenge that many people would avoid. After working in corporate America for various years for companies such as McDonalds, the Sweet Factory, and Sebastian International, Viviane decided it was time to begin her own practice as she moved from Los Angeles to San Diego.

Viviane’s practice gave her the flexibility she needed to do what she found best for her clients. She believed that there’s never a case too complicated to handle. Accounting isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay because she’ll always be there to help. Many times, new clients would come to Viviane in a panic as they were being audited by the IRS from former accounting errors. A nightmare of many people. Viviane states, “Usually accountants don’t like to clean up other people’s mess. It’s easier to reject those clients, but I’m up for the challenge and will help whoever I can.” This is how Viviane has grown her business and many times those complicated cases become her favorite long-term customers.

For 25+ years, Viviane’s practice, V&R Associates, is dedicated to providing excellent, timely, professional, and friendly accounting services tailored to all types of businesses and individuals. Specializing in small-medium sized business bookkeeping and tax preparation, Viviane’s practice provides a range of budget friendly services. Audit prevention, consulting, corporation setups, preparation of financial statements and filing of taxes is just some of the many services.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Being a truly qualified professional will show far beyond any degree. Accounting requires constant research. You must stay up to date and truly know the rules of accounting to provide the service many people desperately seek. Viviane explains further that she has met various CPAs that truly do not understand core accounting concepts. A true professional is hard to find, but Viviane’s clients typically stick around until they sell their business or retire. That is a true sign of other’s seeing the value in the quality service being delivered; a gem that’s hard to replace.

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

Referrals have always been a strong aspect of growing the business. The personal element of telling someone you know about a service that will truly help them out is irreplaceable by any other aspect of marketing. Recently, Viviane’s daughter Thalia has joined the business and is dedicated to it’s marketing. A service is not an easy sell but with an integrated marketing approach, various aspects such as Google and social media must be utilized to discover what works best. It’s not an over night transformation as growth takes various months and years to accomplish, but keeping true to what the company’s core values are have always been center stone. Viviane’s philosophy has never changed. Even with slower years, she has always believed that “stealing” other’s clients is not acceptable. She doesn’t like taking business from others and will not push clients to come to her. Helping when needed will always be a delivered promise, but pushy sales tactics are not the way. What comes around, goes around and Viviane will always stick to her moral compass.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vandraccounting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vandraccounting/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/v-r-associates-san-diego-accounting/
• Other: Google page: https://g.page/r/CZYS8Fki_aedEAE

Image Credits
Thalia Hagopian