When Nicole Hall accepted a bookkeeping job for $13 an hour, commuting 60 miles each way with her infant son in tow, she had no idea it would be the beginning of a life-changing journey. She wasn’t an accountant yet. She didn’t know what a profit and loss statement really meant. And she certainly didn’t see herself as a future firm owner.
But something unexpected happened. She fell in love with the work. In a recent episode of the CPA MOMS Podcast, Nicole shared how she turned a chance opportunity into a thriving 6-figure practice, all while homeschooling her children, running a hobby farm, and working just 15 to 20 hours a week.
From Unlikely Beginnings to Passion and Purpose
Nicole’s career started in a completely different direction: education. But after quickly realizing that teaching wasn’t her calling, she pivoted to bookkeeping. Despite the low pay and long commute, the job offered her something more valuable. It gave her the ability to bring her baby to work and learn a skill that would eventually become her passion.
Over the years, Nicole’s curiosity drove her to keep learning. She pursued her CPA license, earned a master’s in tax, and spent time in public accounting. She absorbed everything she could. But more importantly, she began noticing what didn’t work.
The long hours. The lack of flexibility. The way tax season stole her time, her energy, and moments with her kids. She knew there had to be another way.
Letting Go of Perfection and Embracing Possibility
One of Nicole’s most powerful lessons? Perfection is not a prerequisite for success.
“You don’t need to be perfect to start,” she says. “You just need to be real with your clients and willing to learn.”
For years, she held herself back, thinking she needed everything figured out before taking the leap. But when she finally gave herself permission to start before she was “ready,” everything changed.
She launched her own practice in 2024 and made a clear decision to build her business around her life, not the other way around. That meant saying no to tax prep, saying yes to tax strategy and client relationships, and being firm about the boundaries that would protect her time and energy.
Today, Nicole takes client meetings only two days a week and intentionally limits her working hours. She has built a profitable, in-demand practice that honors her values, her family, and her well-being.
Redefining What Success Looks Like
Nicole’s story is a powerful reminder that you don’t have to follow the traditional path to be successful. In fact, stepping off that path might be the very thing that unlocks your potential.
She’s passionate about breaking the mold accounting students are often handed. The belief that success only comes through the Big Four, 70-hour workweeks, and climbing a rigid corporate ladder.
“There’s this idea that you have to work for someone else to be successful,” she says. “But you can build something of your own. And you can make more money doing it.”
Through intentional business design, Nicole has not only built a six-figure firm in under a year, she’s also created opportunities for other women to work from home, escape burnout, and align their careers with their personal lives.
Building a Business That Gives Back to Your Life
Nicole’s journey also sheds light on the realities many women face: imposter syndrome, ADHD, burnout, and the pressure to be all things to all people. Her honesty about the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship is what makes her story so relatable.
“This isn’t just about accounting,” she explains. “It’s about building something for yourself that gives back a million times over.”
Her advice to other CPA moms is clear: Start where you are. Say yes before you’re ready. And never forget that the way you build your business should support the life you want, not sabotage it.
If Nicole’s story lit a spark in you, you’re not alone. You can start small. You can keep learning. And you can absolutely build a career that works for you, not against you.
Ready to take the first step toward your version of success? Join our supportive network of CPA moms at https://cpamoms.com/start
Nicole Hall is an accomplished accounting professional and entrepreneur who began her career in 2010 as a bookkeeper for a tent manufacturer, just after welcoming her second child. With her husband serving in the military, she was given the rare opportunity to bring her son to work, where she learned bookkeeping from the ground up and quickly discovered a passion for accounting.
In 2012, frequent relocations prompted by her husband’s military career inspired her to launch her own business. By 2014, after her husband’s retirement, she returned with her family to South Carolina, completed her master’s degree in Tax, and gained valuable experience in public accounting.
Over the next decade, she worked for several public accounting firms before stepping away from the traditional industry in 2024 to grow her firm full-time. In just 14 months, she scaled her practice to over six figures in revenue and now maintains a waitlist of clients eager to work with her.
Beyond her firm, she homeschools her two children, manages a small hobby farm on 30 acres, and embraces a lifestyle she never could have imagined 15 years ago.