Every CPA has a story – we all have a journey we’ve taken to get us to where we are. Every entrepreneur also has a story and journey as well.
This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Laurie Dunlop, CPA about her first year as a CPA MOMS franchisee. Laurie is a single mom to two children. Laurie is an experienced Certified Public Accountant with 25+ years in auditing, finance and accounting which includes 18 years as a Chief Financial Officer and a broad managerial role with a private commercial lending company, where she remains a Limited Partner.
During the interview we discuss:
- When she was in college she had a hard time deciding what to major in and turned to her mom for advice
- Her dad was an accountant for Motorolla so her mom suggested accounting
- She knew she wanted to be a business owner and figured having an accounting degree would help her with whatever business she decided to have later on
- She started her career as an auditor for the state of Arizona
- Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to own a dance and tumbling business for children
- She then worked as a financial analyst for Honewell Airtransport, worked for a CPA firm, and eventually sell her home and move to California
- That’s when she entered the commercial lending world and started working for a loan company
- She worked for them for over 20 years and grew with them from $6 million to over $180 million plus
- She wore many hat while working at the loan company, eventually becoming the CFO
- She believes she’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit but it took her awhile to settle into something that would work for her
- She decided to have her children later in life
- Once she had her children she knew she wanted to spend time with them
- She moved back to Arizona to be closer to her dad
- She opened an indoor playground for children but the pandemic happened and forced her to shut down
- That’s when she found CPA MOMS and the franchise opportunity
- She wanted the flexibility that would allow her to be around her children
- She found that the franchise offered her support, guidance, a strong network, and valuable coaching
- She never felt confident in sales until learning the skill with the franchise training
- She shares that having the franchise community to ask questions and bounce ideas off of has been huge for her
- The word she would choose to describe her first year as a CPA MOMS franchisee is “growth”
- She feels much more positive now after creating a vision for her business and is looking forward to the year ahead
To learn more about how CPA MOMS can help you start your own practice, CLICK HERE!