Career Path of a President and CEO at Freedom Accounting Solutions

I decided I wanted to be an accountant when I was 16 and in high school. I was approached by ACPA, and he liked my personality. He offered me a filing job, and I took it.

We moved to a different city back then, and I went into retail and banking. Then, I got a job offer in banking to work in accounting again. So, it was kind of following me more than anything at the time.

I had just graduated high school, and my goal was to attend Cal State Northridge. Due to family issues, I couldn't attend, so I put school on hold and started to work. I got a job at a TV station, which was really cool.

I was just doing basic, entry-level accounting positions. He had me learn how to use a mouse; I had no clue what I was doing. But he believed in my potential, and he and his office manager, a lady, saw something in me. They both trained me, and eventually, I became the office manager, which was a great opportunity.

Fast forward, I got married and became a mom. They told me if I didn't go back to school, I wouldn't grow and would get stuck. So, I started going to community college and graduated. Then, I wanted to go back to Northridge, but I wasn't able to because I was a mom and working full-time.

I ended up applying at Cal Lutheran, and they took me in right away. They treated me with so much respect and kindness. I started my course in the winter with a two-year plan. At the same time, I got offered a job at Cisco Food Services as a junior accountant.

Since I didn't have a bachelor's, I needed one, but they knew I was going to school for it, so they gave me the opportunity. I was working full-time, married with a baby, and going to school at night. It was a little hard, but I got it done.

I graduated, and at Cisco, I got promoted multiple times. I became the controller and even the interim CFO. However, by then, I was a mother of three, and it was a juggling experience.

As much as I loved that career path, I wanted to be more present with my kids. So, I took another job at Met 3000, which was bought out by McKesson. I became an accounting manager there. It was a little boring for me because I was used to fast-paced work, but I enjoyed it.

We decided to adopt, and I had to downgrade my career a bit more. I ended up at a bookkeeping firm, which opened my eyes back to my initial dream: becoming a business owner. I was there for a few years and got another job offer. It was wonderful working from home and attending to my kids.

Then, one of my friends suggested we start our own business. We decided to start our own business. I still had a full-time job, but we started slowly in January 2020, right before Covid. Then everything shut down.

We started to get referrals from people who knew us, and we've been growing for the last three years. Initially, it was just going to be two of us, and now there are seven. We continue to educate ourselves and just got back from a convention and QuickBooks Connect in Las Vegas. It's nonstop learning and inspirational speakers, all so we can give more to our clients and our staff.

Our staff are all working moms, and some have degrees but can't do the corporate world because they want to be present. We want to accommodate that, so we work in the office from 8:30 to 2:30. We get to go home and feel accomplished that we've serviced clients and can be there for our kids.

It's been a roller coaster with this career dream. What I thought it was has become something completely different, but I'm still able to help clients with the skills I have.