Did you grow up with good money management skills or have you learned about the importance of solvency the hard way? Do you find numbers a fascinating part of business or a necessary evil to be dealt with? Connecting with a financial professional can bring peace of mind either way. As with all other professionals, they come with different personalities and stories.
Mark Enderle, CPA
www.ebdcpa.com
Enderle Besten Dieruf PLLC
All of Mark Enderle’s clients are business owners, whom he advises on tax issues.
“We also help clients with business valuations, sales and purchases of businesses,” he said. “I was an adjunct instructor of taxation at various Kentucky institutions over 23 years, and that certainly helps in boiling down advice into things they, the business own- ers, can understand and implement.”
Enderle had a modest upbringing and fiscal soundness was unknown to him early in life. He credits education and real-life experi- ences for providing the foundation of his financial acumen.
“I am fortunate in that I get to see hun- dreds of businesses operating at the same time, over years, and get to see first-hand what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “There are common threads that I see with successful business owners. It’s not all luck.”
When new clients find Enderle, often after having missed a tax-planning opportunity, they tell him they wish they had known him years ago. To which he replies, “What’s most impor- tant is to fix things from this point forward, and not beat ourselves up too much about what happened in the past.”
Kelly Spencer, CPA
www.kspencercpa.com
Spencer Business Solutions LLP
In August 2014 Kelly Spencer started her own business, after “working way too much” in a 14-year career in corporate controllership and finance, paying other people to see to her children, and being diagnosed at age 41 with breast can- cer during her second annual mammogram.
“That changes your perspective on life,” she said.
Now a breast cancer survivor, Spencer appreciates the big picture as well as the details of life and business. In spring 2015 her brother, Todd Spencer, decided to move back home from New York City. He is also a CPA, with a background in auditing.
“Now we’re a partnership,” she said. “We’re having a blast.”
Small-business owners make up 80 percent of Spencer Business Solutions’ client base. In addition to accounting services, the Spencers provide business analyses and help their clients take a step back from day-to-day operations to map out where they want to be a year from now and three years from now.
“You’re doing a lot of extra work if you’re co-mingling funds from personal and business accounts. It’s good to keep your business and personal accounts separate,” Kelly Spencer said. She also advises startup entrepreneurs to find a CPA before opening a business.
“Interview people; don’t just stop at the first one you find. You need to find a CPA you can talk to that you’re not afraid to ask ques- tions of,” she said. “You need this person to be your financial partner. I know cash flow is tough when you start out, but it will be money well spent.”
Kevin Kitchin, CFP, AAMS, Partner
www.vfginvest.com
VFG Wealth Management & Benefit Solutions Inc.