Every CPA has a story – we all have a journey we’ve taken to get us to where we are. Every successful entrepreneur also has a story and journey as well. This week I had the pleasure of interviewing CPA MOMS Founder and CEO, Mayumi Young, CPA. Mayumi’s CPA and entrepreneur journey is fascinating and inspiring for any accountant and mom who wants to create a better future for herself and her family.
During the interview we discuss:
- Mayumi didn’t start her professional career wanting to be an accountant; she became an accountant by default, feeling the pressure of student loans and needing to figure out a good, practical career for women
- She was recruited into Price Waterhouse right out of college
- She started in auditing and enjoyed certain aspects of being on the advisory side, but knew she wanted more
- Her upbringing, like most women, taught her to get a good job and follow a certain pathway
- She was recruited out of Price Waterhouse by an international telecom company, in which she ended up being the international Finance Director
- She reached the “pinnacle” of success, but as she was about to relocate to Europe, she had a defining moment
- In an airport, she met a woman with her 10 year old daughter and the conversation she had with this woman literally gave her an awareness that changed the course of her life and career
- She wound up turning down an offer from her current employer when they undervalued her position and her contribution, and she left without a plan
- She didn’t know what her next chapter was but the moment she chose to be a person who was going to intentionally create her life, as opposed to someone who was always defaulting to what others believed was the “right” or the safe thing, everything changed
- She had an awakening moment where she realized she wanted to be an entrepreneur and build businesses, but only if they had profit and purpose
- That began her entrepreneur journey, first building a business that focused on financial literacy curriculum for children in schools, then a coaching business to empower women entrepreneurs and eventually starting CPA MOMS in 2008
- Because she committed her life to be of service to others, she learned to surrender to the “signs” and the “taps on the shoulder” along the way, as to what direction she should take
- She knew there was a big enough need in the marketplace for accountants who were also mothers, who wanted to have a career as well as a family and entrepreneurs who needed the talent and expertise that these women offered
- She shares that she refuses to be an entrepreneur without a coach and a mentor because she knows that having an outside perspective is the key to her growth
- As an entrepreneur she realizes how pervasive it is for women to undervalue themselves and how important it is to have someone help you gain the confidence necessary to grow both personally and professionally
- After a few different business models, she came back full circle to the franchise model, knowing that that was the best way to grow CPA practices while reconnecting families
- She explains that CPA MOMS’ job is to bring families together, to allow women who choose to raise their children, to have the ability to have a career or grow their own practice
- All of the CPA MOMS custom built training, custom technology, marketing education, and the placement of teams and talent have all been designed to deal with the four core challenges that mompreneurs in the making deal with – not enough time, not enough support, not enough quality clients, and not enough confidence
- CPA MOMS commitment is to grow 500 CPA firms in the next 5 years and reconnect families, creating a ripple effect for accountant moms and their communities
- The letters she gets from the children of the CPAs who are moms, that chose to take that leap of faith, have the courage to go do what’s in their heart, to be at home with their kids but also have a successful accounting practice, are what get her up every day
- She shares that she is looking forward to becoming a “B Corp” which means a corporation that is recognized as a company that exists as a win/win/win for every stakeholder, for social impact, and to make a difference, such as Whole Foods and Patagonia
- These are businesses that want to have a beneficial social impact on the planet
- She shares that everything she’s ever done to deliberately create the business and the life success she’s achieved have all been packaged into a program called “Your Future Vision” which CPA MOMS will be launching very soon
- If you are interested in designing a life that has meaning, you’ll want to check out the “Your Future Vision” program to learn the exact steps that Mayumi used to intentionally create the life she now has, even in the face of any difficult circumstances or situations the a lot of us are facing right now
To learn more about what it means to be a franchisee, CLICK HERE!