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Carol Staudacher has lots of knowledge and experience working with both personal family members and patients who have ADHD, which affects about 8% of children and 6% of adults. She decided to take her knowledge and experience, wrap it up in a pretty box, and share it with others who could benefit greatly from it.
Staudacher, an entrepreneur and client of 1-800Accountant, proudly manages her own small business called Grandma Carol’s Corner, LLC. It’s based right out of her home in Lake Leelanau, Michigan and was officially established in March 2014.
Through the startup company, the grandmother of 13 is educating fellow grandparents about some of the challenges their grandkids face, particularly when it comes to ADHD and other learning and behavioral conditions prevalent in about two-thirds of children with ADHD.
“I have learned that this older population doesn’t understand the three basic features of ADHD which includes inattention, physical hyperactivity, and impulsivity,” Staudacher says. “I want to be able to inform them so that they can have more positive interactions with their grandchildren with ADHD. Most of these children receive so much negativity because of their challenging behavior. More positive reinforcements could trigger a better self-image in these kids which might help to improve their functional levels.”
Staudacher, a former nurse with a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing, used to send out a family newsletter to her grandchildren and called it Grandma Carol’s Corner. She would include news about all the grandchildren as well as information on various health issues, including ADHD. Little did she know that one day she would run her own startup business with the same name! She has her own website – www.grandmac.co – and plans to launch a blog on which she’ll feature a plethora of articles and information about ADHD for grandparents as well as for their grandchildren.
“It’s discouraging to see so many of these children struggle so much with their schoolwork in grammar school and high school,” she says. “Many of them want to attend college, but fail because they haven’t learned appropriate study and organizational skills to accommodate their unique learning disabilities. Many of them end up with low-paying jobs even though they may have creative talents which, if nurtured, could lead to advances in industrial or scientific fields or even the arts. Many of these children also have a unique characteristic of thinking “outside the box,” which enhances their creativity.”
While education is a primary reward in the business, Staudacher hopes to generate some revenue through her for-profit venture. She plans to use Google AdWords, which posts ads relating to the business focus to increase the number of visitors on the site. Revenue is generated by the number of clicks to the site each day.
<h2>Small Business Competition</h2>
Entrepreneurs strive to pursue the latest and greatest ideas that have yet to be taken in order to discover startup success. Fortunately for Staudacher, she feels like she has found a niche in her industry that has largely been untapped by others.
“I couldn’t find much at all about grandparent involvement in dealing with ADHD. Plus, grandkids generally have a special place in their hearts for their grandparents. I was thinking that getting a little more involved with schoolwork and projects might make a difference. Parents could also use a little reprieve from handling the daily stress of dealing with the nuances associated with ADHD.”
<h2>Pointers for Entrepreneurs</h2>
Staudacher offers some tips for fellow entrepreneurs looking for an opportunity to jump into a new small business venture.
“I would say research your area of interest to see how much business is out there already,” she says. “Look at websites, blogs, and other informational resources. Have a definite business plan in mind. I think I went into this without doing as much research as I could have in the beginning.”
She admits there are both advantages and disadvantages to being self-employed.
“I travel a lot, especially in the winter. But I can take my business with me. It would be more difficult if I depended on that income to support myself or my family, as one isn’t guaranteed a steady paycheck.”
<h2>1-800Accountant Client Testimonial</h2>
As a 1-800Accountant client, Staudacher says she’s been very happy with the accounting firm’s support.
“I can call and ask questions whenever I want, and I have gotten follow-up calls regularly,” she says. “I have been very satisfied with 1-800Accountant and would recommend the firm to others.”
Photo credit: The photograph of Carol Staudacher was provided by Grandma Carol’s Corner, LLC and is used with permission.

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Educating Grandparents on ADHD in Grandma Carol’s Corner

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They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.But if you need help mastering a new subject or skill, Malcolm Mayo and his wife, Rickela, want to give you access to a Tutor Doctor whenever you need one.The Mayos officially established Foodie Enterprises, Inc. in September 2014. The current focus of Foodie Enterprises is a startup international franchise company called Tutor Doctor. It offers tutoring services for children in Kindergarten through 12th grade, but it’s open to anyone interested in honing their skills.“Tutor Doctor is primarily designed to help parents invest in their kids’ futures,” Malcolm Mayo explains. “We can provide one-on-one tutoring for kids across all grades. We look at this as offering a coach who can help students either improve their academic standing or maintain a high level. Basically, if someone is an ‘A’ student, we can help them maintain that. If we get a ‘C’ student, we can help them become an ‘A’ student.”The small business takes a very specific approach when offering tutoring services. If someone needs a tutor for a certain class like algebra, trigonometry, or calculus, the company can offer a subject-matter expert rather than a general math tutor for such a case.He says there were several reasons that drove he and his wife into starting a business of their own to achieve the much-desired American dream of entrepreneurship.“I always wanted to potentially own my own business and become an entrepreneur,” he explains. “Tutor Doctor is a franchise, so I wanted to get involved in a brand that was young, could grow, and one that had solid leadership at the top. I also wanted to control my own destiny. My wife and I told ourselves that if we could succeed in the corporate world working for others, we could be successful small business owners.”They both felt that their skill sets complemented each other well, which is why they decided to put both of their names on the paperwork for the company.“She has an HR background and has a higher education, so she handles more of the frontend aspects of the business,” he says. “I work on the financial and operations aspects.”<h2>How to Make Your Small Business Succeed</h2>In Mayo’s words, any successful small business must satisfy its customers. In his case, the success of the students his startup company helps will determine the ultimate success of the small business.“We have to be very engaged in the community and help those in it who need assistance,” he says. “The success of our enterprise comes from the success of our students. We can sit down with parents to set goals for their kids to ensure everyone is aligned with what we are trying to achieve.”Tutor Doctor can either send a tutor to a student’s home, or there are local libraries where parents can bring their kids for the academic sessions. While its main demographic is students in school, the small business offers tutoring and training to anyone, such as seniors who want to learn how to use a computer or an iPad.<h2>Small Business Competition</h2>The Mayos separate their startup from other competing tutoring services by offering a more customized approach for each student they assist.“We call it the ‘Tutor Doctor advantage,’” he explains. “If you go to a learning center, you can probably get general help. But with us, we are curriculum-based. We focus on what is covered in a student’s actual classes. We track a student’s progress from beginning to end. We use weekly progress reports so that students, teachers, and parents are all on the same page. We also have different packages for different needs. Ultimately, we always provide a high level of customer service.”<h2>Advertising Methods for a Small Business</h2>The marketing plan for Tutor Doctor is multifaceted. The startup has a website the Mayos are also working with their local chamber of commerce and attend relevant events to help get the word out.<h2>Overcoming Challenges in Business Ownership</h2>Like fellow entrepreneurs, the Mayos have faced several challenges in getting their business off the ground.“Our biggest challenge has been trying to understand the tutoring industry and the needs of the students. Building relationships with key stakeholders who can provide the service you need is big. When we go to a school, we have to find the right person to talk to who can help put us in touch with the right students. It’s definitely not as easy as it sounds.”He offers some tips for entrepreneurs who want to become small business owners themselves some day.“Be patient and do your homework,” he suggests. “It is a long process, but be patient. If you’re starting a franchise, we highly recommend using a franchise consultant to guide you through the process. They will be your best friend.”<h2>Experience with 1-800Accountant</h2>Mayo says he and his wife are satisfied clients of 1-800Accountant.“Now that we have personal and business filings to do, 1-800Accountant is a valuable player in this process,” he says.Photo credit: The photographs included in this blog post were provided by Foodie Enterprises, LLC and are used with permission.

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Startup Story: Just What the Tutor Doctor Ordered

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In July 2018, when Gary Angel made his healthcare IT consulting business official by filing it as an LLC, he saw it as a sideline of work – a way to make a little extra cash to supplement his regular job. He didn’t know that soon he’d be working the equivalent of two full-time jobs. Now, Gary’s getting so many quality referrals he can barely keep up with them. Good thing he enjoys what he does Trained in computer programming, Gary first started in telecommunications, then switched to the auto industry. Eventually, he found himself at the University of Michigan, where he worked his way into the healthcare side of information technology. In 2002, Gary moved on to the Detroit Medical Center, where he was introduced to Cerner programming and its applications. He’s been serving in various IT consulting roles ever since “I really enjoy my work,” says Gary. “I enjoy programming. I enjoy the challenges of working with people. I enjoy problem-solving” He says he feels lucky to be working with very kind and good people at hospitals around the region Like many entrepreneurs, Gary filed his business as an LLC because he wanted to separate his business assets from his personal assets. It was a smart business decision. Another smart decision was hiring 1-800Accountant to assist him with business accounting. “It’s helped in the fact that I’m probably more on top of my tax situation,” says Gary. “I have a better idea of when things need to be done, thanks to Marc. He’s been about as easy to work with as one could ask for. Gary can envision a day soon when he’s working only for himself. Ideally, though, he’d like to cut down from the 80 hours a week he’s currently working to about 60. Says Gary, “We’ll see what the future brings.”

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Gary Angel: Filing As An LLC Was A Smart Business Decision

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In 1968, Mary Lee Decoster went to work for a surgeon who was fresh out of medical school and starting his own practice. Mary Lee had to learn the business of managing the books from the ground up – how to bill and collect from patients and insurance companies, along with just about everything else that needed to be done in the office. The practice eventually grew to a group of five surgeons. Fast forward almost 50 years, and Mary Lee was entering retirement from a series of management roles that culminated in a vice president position at a large healthcare system. But retirement would be short-lived for Mary Lee. People kept calling her for help with revenue, cash flow, collections, and other advice. Her consulting business was born, and in December 2016 she formed an LLC. Mary Lee is passionate about enabling others to succeed. “I love to be a part of helping an organization transition from manual, paper-based workflows to automated, electronic workflows,” Mary Lee says. “I like to learn the games the payer plays to deny payment and to figure out how to win the reimbursement.” Over the years, Mary Lee has seen just about every healthcare billing and collection challenge that could possibly arise. From HIPAA to the Affordable Care Act, she’s accumulated a staggering wealth of knowledge. One area where she wasn’t so confident, though, was in managing her consulting revenue and paying her taxes. Thus, she began a relationship with 1-800Accountant that has proved valuable in ways she never dreamed. “My accountant, Chris Tuttle, has been very helpful,” says Mary Lee. “Chris explains things so I can understand what needs to be done. He has given me suggestions to further minimize my taxes. He recommended I become an S-Corp, hire a payroll service and start paying myself. I would never have known to do this on my own. He’s saving me money – and headaches.” With the help of 1-800Accountant, it appears Mary Lee will be helping others with their business decisions for a good long time. That’s the kind of retirement you can bank on.

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Mary Lee Decoster and 1-800Accountant: When Retirement Means the Next Great Adventure

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Carrie Weaver values good leadership. After all, she’s a leader herself. In February 2017, Carrie took fifteen years of corporate human resources experience and translated it into her own New York City business,&nbsp;<a class=link href="https://silverbranchconsulting.com/">Silver Branch Consulting LLC</a>. Now, Carrie spends her days coaching and developing leaders in enterprises all across the country.
Dealing directly with people wasn’t always Carrie’s milieu, though. She has a master’s degree in geology and was employed for a time by the U.S. Geological Survey. But Carrie soon learned that studying rocks isn’t nearly as interesting as working with people. “I made the shift into the human resources field after I realized you could really help organizations do amazing work,” says Carrie. “But you needed people who were really aligned and had the right skills and abilities in their roles to make sure the organization was working.”
Today, Carrie sees a specific need for leadership training. “I think that, as you get into executive-level roles, there’s this idea that you’re there, you’ve made it, you’re done,” Carrie says. “Actually, it’s quite the opposite. You really need to double down on your own learning and make sure you’re still sharp.”
Carrie is motivated by one of her core values – continued growth. It’s vital to her to be able to develop and learn constantly. But what really drives Carrie is a desire to be of service to others. “It’s important to me to do what I love and give it to other people,” says Carrie.
When Carrie formed her business, she knew she had a lot to learn about accounting, so she hired 1-800Accountant to assist her. The move has paid big dividends. “I knew nothing about taxation as it relates to LLCs, so I had a huge learning curve,” Carrie says. “But I had a number of calls in the early stages with my accountants to really help me understand taxation issues, such as how to do estimated tax, which is something I never had to think about before.”
As Carrie contemplates growing her business and perhaps shifting from an LLC to an S corporation, she’s come to rely on her relationship with 1-800Accountant even more. She believes she’s seen enough revenue growth to make the switch soon. “I’m at my target revenue where it’s going to make sense for me to do that,” says Carrie. “But I had no knowledge of any of that going into it. So, it’s just been super informative and illuminating to be able to work with the 1-800Accountant team.”
With 1-800Accountant in her corner, Carrie’s business trajectory appears to be going nowhere but up.

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Carrie Weaver and Silver Branch Consulting – Growing Better Leaders Every Day

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Change is something Abby Dryer knows something about. While at her full-time job as a program manager at a large bank, Abby began working in and around change management – introducing strategies for making changes happen and helping people adapt to them. Then, Abby decided to make a change of her own. In August 2017, Abby left her job and started Ask Abby Dryer, a project management and problem-solving consulting company. Abby says, “I decided to start my own business because I haven’t seen a place do what I want to do. If you can’t find it, you have to build it – so here I am!” Abby feels a real calling to help businesses and their employees reduce stress and find the right balance between their jobs and their home lives. Says Abby, “I’ve seen too many people hospitalized (or worse!) from the stress of highly complex or high-stakes projects, and I sort of blended project management with emotion management, which I later found out is a form of change management.” In talking about what inspires her, Abby says, “I call myself an Employee Experience Evangelist. I get a deep sense of personal satisfaction from knowing that I’ve made a difference that will last. If I can help individuals on a team make small changes that greatly impact their stress level and/or work-life balance for the better, I consider that a win.” Abby identifies business development as her biggest challenge right now. But she’s also willing to get help for her business when she needs it. That’s why she hired 1-800Accountant to assist with her finances. “Without 1-800Accountant, my biggest challenge would have been managing the financials. It’s such a relief to know that I have an expert at hand to answer my silly questions about how my financials are supposed to work. It really takes all that stress away.” Looking toward the future, Abby continues to embrace change. She recently rebranded her business as Syncopated Consulting. She hopes to partner with companies to help make a real difference in the employee experience during mergers and acquisitions, leadership changes and other disruptive events.

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Abby Dryer Embraces Change, Lets 1-800Accountant Lessen the Stress

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Dan Madine has always been a natural leader. At Fordham University in the late 1990s, he quarterbacked the Rams football team. Following graduation, his leadership skills landed him a position in a management training program. Beginning in 2001, Dan started honing his coaching and management abilities in the corporate world, often working 85 to 95 hours a week. Says Dan, “It took a lot of sacrifices, but the adversity built a strong character that positioned me for success when future challenges arrived.” In October 2017, Dan decided his coaching abilities had matured to the point that he wanted to set his own course and share his knowledge with more people. That’s when he founded Striped Collar Consulting, LLC. Through Striped Collar, Dan trains leadership teams, providing them with relationship building strategies, helping them through culture changes, and improving employee engagement. “When I think of what makes me happy during a standard workday, it has always been when I spend time coaching others and helping them achieve success,” says Dan. One of Dan’s biggest concerns with starting his own company was the financial accounting. So, he hired 1-800Accountant to help. “In my previous positions, I’d always had an accountant on staff, which actually created a weakness in my abilities,” says Dan. “1-800Accountant plugged that weakness gap and gave me the confidence to move forward.” Now, Dan’s goals are to continue to expand his practice and improve his financial means, so that he can donate more and support those in need in the community, particularly disadvantaged children. “Helping others is what inspires me,” Dan says. “Helping others achieve success at work as well as helping those who are less fortunate than me.”

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Dan Madine and Striped Collar Consulting – Coaching for Success

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Keith Pedescleaux likes to call himself Santa Claus – not because he rides around on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, but because he helps the clients of his small business obtain unclaimed money as if they were getting a free financial gift for the holidays.
Pedescleaux proudly serves as the CEO of Hidden Funds, LLC in Plano, Texas. He officially launched the startup venture in November 2014, and he’s able to conveniently run it right out of his comfortable home office.
Hidden Funds, LLC has a name that literally speaks for itself in terms of its function.
“I specialize in working with people who have money due to them through corporations or the government, but they don’t even know it exists. I help them get this unclaimed money, and then they pay me a certain percentage of it for the legwork involved in the process,” he says.
It was some unanticipated life circumstances that led him to try his hand at startup success by becoming his own boss.
“I worked in Corporate America for 25 years,” he says. “I had some health issues and was no longer able to work, so I looked around and finally found something I could do from home where I could help others.”
The 56-year-old explains what he believes will ultimately make Hidden Funds, LLC a long-term success.
“Obviously you have to build your pipeline of clients and partnerships over time,” he says. “You have to work through common issues and be relentless.”
The money he helps his clients obtain comes from several sources, which include forgotten or unused bank accounts, un-cashed checks, mortgage insurance funds, trust funds, and tax refunds.
Pedescleaux conducts research by examining government records, books, and accounts to find unclaimed funds being held by government agencies. He says the fact that he does not charge a penny unless he finds this unclaimed money for a client makes his service unique.
“I’m helping people,” he says. “Normally when someone calls you, it’s a telemarketer or bill collector. But in this case, people don’t even know the money is there for the taking. I’m kind of acting like I am Santa Claus.”
From his vantage point, there are 3 main competitors he is up against – government agencies, mortgage companies, and homeowner’s associations. The good news for him is that he feels like he’s more personable and accessible than any of these other organizations, especially when it comes to collecting money on his clients’ behalf.
<h2>Advertising Methods for a Small Business</h2>
To inform potential clients about how Hidden Funds, LLC can benefit them financially, Pedescleaux uses several advertising methods for small business owners. He primarily uses direct-mail marketing by sending out postcards that include his phone number.
<h2>Overcoming Hurdles When Starting a Business</h2>
Pedescleaux has not been exempt from some of the common challenges self-employed business owners face when starting a business and having to maintain it over time.
“I’ve learned that each state has different tax laws and rules on doing business in them,” he explains. “I started doing business in South Carolina where it was a little bit easier to reach the end-consumer. There were not as many rules and regulations, either. Now that I am in Texas, there are a few more rules that make things a little more challenging.”
He adds that doing the research and crunching the numbers can be overwhelming. So he likes to run an errand or take a break during the day to freshen up his mind – something he knows he wouldn’t be able to do when tied down to a 9-to-5 job.
<h2>Tips for Entrepreneurs</h2>
Based on his personal adventures, he offers a few important tips for entrepreneurs.
“Talk to as many people as you can. Also, do plenty of research. Go with your heart. You have to follow through and have faith, work hard, and always hope for the best.”
<h2>Experience with 1-800Accountant</h2>
Pedescleaux speaks highly of his experience as a 1-800Accountant client in terms of the small business accounting support he has received from the nationwide firm.
“It feels like more of a business partnership to have 1-800Accountant on my side,” he confides. “I have been very impressed with the responsiveness and professionalism of everyone I have talked to there.”
Image credit: The image included in this blog post is used with permission via the Flickr Creative Commons license.

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Entrepreneur, a.k.a. Santa, Helps Get You Unclaimed Money

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A great thing about working with so many small businesses is watching as they flourish and grow. The unique paths they’ve taken to succeed are insightful, and we’re proud to share some of those inspiring stories with you.

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