Episode 127: Tanya Akimenko

Tanya Akimenko

Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Pretty powerful podcast where powerful women are interviewed every week to share real inspiring stories. And incredible insight to help women or anyone break the barriers, be a part of innovation, shatter the glass ceiling, and dominate to the top of their sport industry, or life's mission.

Join us as we celebrate exceptional women and step into our power. And now here's your host, Angela Gennari.

Angela Gennari: Hello. Welcome to another episode of the Pretty Powerful Podcast. My name is Angela Gennari, and today I am here with Tanya Akimenko. Hi Tanya. Hi. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much for being here. So Tanya has been a tax accountant for 20 years now and she helps small business owners understand their finances because it's the heartbeat of every business and that's absolutely correct.

So, and we happen to be in the heart of tax season, so I appreciate you taking the [00:01:00] time because we're gonna definitely dive into a hole. A whole bunch of really good information that I think can help people. So let me just start by asking what made you wanna get into this business?

Tanya Akimenko: Um, I always enjoyed accounting in general.

Mm-hmm. Um, this is gonna give away my age, but like we had, I had took an accounting class in high school. This was way before computers. Everything had to be on paper uhhuh, and with a calculator, with everything, you know. To me it was always like, not just a number game, like, but it was always like a puzzle with accounting.

Like everything had to match. So I always enjoyed it. Um, and then I moved to Delta Junction, Alaska. And in the small city that where we lived, um, the closest like accountant was like two hours away. Wow. And yeah, so we, um. I was in a situation where I need to do some payroll and things like that, and there was nobody around, and I'm like, I'm just gonna learn this myself.

Both: [00:02:00] Mm-hmm.

Tanya Akimenko: And this was before the super fast internet and the colleges were online and stuff like that. So I started doing the distance learning.

Both: Wow.

Tanya Akimenko: And, and learned from there, called the IRS, ordered their publications to be mailed to me.

Angela Gennari: Wow.

Tanya Akimenko: Studied them, highlighted them. Wow.

Angela Gennari: Yes. That

Tanya Akimenko: was fun.

Angela Gennari: That's awesome.

So I'm sure you became very popular in your area then because you saved people two hours from driving.

Tanya Akimenko: I did. Yeah. 'cause again, this was like before you could upload tax documents. It's so easy now. Yeah. I still have customers that I started out with.

Angela Gennari: Wow. The Delta

Tanya Akimenko: Junction, Alaska. Yeah.

Angela Gennari: That's amazing.

Well, good for you. So, um, taxes is one of those things where as soon as somebody brings up something to me, um, in effect, my payroll company is one of these, like, Hey, we need to discuss the, the tax, this form and that form. And, and I, [00:03:00] I don't even wanna have the conversation. I immediately forward them to my CPA and I say, you know, I, I don't speak that language.

I wish I did. I don't wanna get it wrong because taxes are scary. You're, you're afraid to make it. To make a mistake on taxes because you feel like, you know, if I make a mistake that that's costly.

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah. In all reality, the IRS is the most powerful collection agency in the US I know, and it's awful.

Angela Gennari: And they have me petrified like, I'm so afraid to make a mistake.

So I, I don't even wanna like attempt because. If I, if I do it wrong, and, and I have done it wrong, like when I was a very, very small business and, you know, it was just me doing all the bookkeeping and everything. I filed taxes and I did something wrong, and it was just something silly. Like it wasn't even anything that was huge, but the fine that I had to pay and, and then all the, the interest that they tack on and there's just.

Oh my gosh. It's just, it's so overwhelming. [00:04:00] So for me it's the peace of mind of knowing that it's done right. I just send it off to a CPA and I'm happy to do it.

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah. And especially like you mentioned, uh, I don't understand that language. Yeah. Most business owners don't. Yeah. And what I came to realize really quick actually was like my first tax appointment, I'm over here sitting explaining her taxes to her, telling her, and she's looking at me like, and then she goes, listen, I did not understand anything you said.

Do it over, but in the language. I understand. So literally like the first, one of my very first appointments, you know, I was like, okay, people really don't understand what I studied. Mm-hmm. So I break it down. Yeah. And I really try and like now I have employees and everything and part of my training is like we communicate accounting language, but that does not mean our clients know.

Mm-hmm. So we communicate in everyday language with our clients.

Angela Gennari: Thank you. Yes, [00:05:00] thank you for saying that. Because even things like, uh, did you file your, your 10 20 or your, you know, and then I know like there's a 10 99 and then there's a W nine and there's this, and it's just all of these forms. Like I I, I just have 'em just posted on my desk.

I'm like, okay, this is the form that I send as a vendor. This is the form that I send to my contractors. Yeah, it's, it's confusing. So yeah, there, there, there's a. A lot to know and the tax code changes frequently, right?

Tanya Akimenko: All the time. That's why we have to study it every single year.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. So, and I mean that's kind of the point of even having my CPA is that when the tax code is changing rapidly, I wanna know that there's somebody who's paying attention to that because I can only pay attention to so many other things in my business and be able to still keep it above water.

That's true. So, um, so talk to me about, um, small business accounting specifically. So, I know that a lot of [00:06:00] small businesses, and I hear this all the time, that they say, you know, I'm really good at running my business, but I hate the, the bookkeeping and the money stuff. How do I, you know, like how do I manage the bookkeeping stuff?

And, and I mean, I can, I can see that because I'll get in the weeds and when I, again, when I was first starting my business 10 years ago. I would get into the weeds with my business and I realized I hadn't reconciled anything in a month and or two months and I hadn't, you know, sent invoices out in a month and I hadn't done this and this, and there's so much to do.

And how do you, what do you recommend for a small business to, to be able to stay on top of that?

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah, so that's actually one of the struggles every business owner faces all the time. And they're either like afraid to even look at their numbers or they just find the task such a hideous.

Both: Mm-hmm. And you

Tanya Akimenko: know, there's really no one answer.

Everyone needs to know themselves. Mm-hmm. So if you are a better person, like in the morning, you get those tasks done that are more [00:07:00] annoying. Then do it in the morning. Mm-hmm. If you are in the evening, do it in the evening. But like, don't force yourself when you're mentally not capable, you know? Or like, um, but also simplify everything.

Simplify your. Process simplify you how you track your income and expenses. You know, like you said, not sending out invoices, that's important 'cause that's money in. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So put it on your calendar like every Monday you're sending out invoices, you know, and, and build habits. So start with small and build habits.

And again, just make it easier. A lot of times when business owners start out, they don't need those fancy, um, accounting software. A spreadsheet is just fine. Something that you understand that you can do, um, when, especially when like you can't afford an accountant or a CPA to just forward everything to

Angela Gennari: mm-hmm.

Yeah, exactly. Well, and we have, um. You know, we're, we're finally at that place now where we have, I have an office manager and we [00:08:00] have a, uh, an outside third party bookkeeper. And then of course we have an outside CPA. But those are all things that are nice to have, but not every business can afford it. Um, where would you start, would you start with, um, bookkeeping, uh, or CPA or taxes or if you were a small business, where, where would you say to strategize first?

Tanya Akimenko: Um, definitely with bookkeeping, because those are your numbers. Mm-hmm. Bookkeeping and tax preparation are two different things. Most people think it's the same thing. They'll just bring, and I still have some people just bring me a box of stuff and they're like, here, do my taxes. I gotta do your bookkeeping before I can even get into your taxes,

Both: uhhuh.

So those are

Tanya Akimenko: two different things, but definitely start with bookkeeping.

Both: Mm-hmm. And

Tanya Akimenko: like, like you have a bookkeeper and a CPA, those are two different people.

Both: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Tanya Akimenko: The bookkeeping part is that's gonna tell you your finances, your how much money's in, how much money's out that's gonna tell your, [00:09:00] um, story.

So definitely start with that.

Angela Gennari: Okay. Okay. So start with a bookkeeper and would you say monthly or quarterly or how, how often should you have a bookkeeper looking at your books

Tanya Akimenko: at least? Um, monthly for sure.

Angela Gennari: Okay, awesome. So, uh, if I have a bookkeeper who's, who's going through and reconciling monthly, and that's, that's one of the biggest things for us is, you know, we have a lot of employees and we have several states and, you know, we have, um.

Payroll in two different, you know, EINs. And so we have quite a lot, it's complicated. So we make sure that we're on, on top of this every single month, if not every single week. But, um, not all small business owners. And, and even 10 years ago when I was doing it myself, um, like I was saying, I'd, I'd go a few months without reconciling and then I'd just be inundated.

And then you're trying to. Figure out, oh crap, when did I go to that store and what did I buy? And what was that for? And so there's, there's a [00:10:00] lot. Um, I know that when I first started, I used to scan in all my receipts. Is that still something that we need to be doing?

Tanya Akimenko: Yes, you still need to save all your receipts.

Scanning them is the best 'cause you have a digital copy. Mm-hmm. But yes, if I've sat in quite a few audits, 'cause I do audit representation and yes, the IS does wanna see your receipt. Bank statements is not enough or credit card statements because the, they will show you where you spent the money and the date.

And how much, but they won't say what you bought. Those are the receipts. So definitely still, I know it's hideous.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm.

Tanya Akimenko: And tedious and it's annoying, but yes, you need the receipts.

Angela Gennari: Okay, good. That's good advice. I appreciate that. So what, what services or products do you use, um, or recommend for bookkeeping?

For, for small business?

Tanya Akimenko: Um. Depending on if they can afford it, there's, you know, QuickBooks is the best [00:11:00] software there is.

Both: Mm-hmm. Many

Tanya Akimenko: try to compete with it, but fail. Um, QuickBooks is just a well above everybody else. Um, if you are really, really tied on funds and can't afford it, a wave accounting has come a long way.

Um, it's much cheaper, but it, it's also nowhere near as good as QuickBooks. However, if you have, um, if you are working with a QuickBooks Pro advisor, they, QuickBooks came out with this, um, QuickBooks ledger, which is affordable, and you can keep track of your bookkeeping, but it has to go through a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

It's not available to just anybody. And then Oh, interesting. Yeah. And then also you can even just start with a spreadsheet.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, even just an Excel spreadsheet is better than nothing. Yeah. At least you're tracking, so, okay. Well, very good. Thank you. So, um, [00:12:00] when we're talking about bookkeeping and accounting and, um, so you, you make a statement that ignoring them can lead to business failure.

Can you tell me what you mean by that?

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah. A lot of times people start a business, they're working and they think they're profitable, or like if they're doing multiple things, multiple services or multiple products, and they're not tracking the exact expenses mm-hmm. They might think they're profitable, but in reality, they might be losing on a service or a product.

And unless you have that bookkeeping, unless you know, um, you won't know. You won't know if you're profitable or not. But this way you can adjust your prices and things like that if you're keeping track of it.

Angela Gennari: Yeah, absolutely. Well, and that comes down to really knowing your numbers, right? Like if you watch, like, let's just give example like Shark Tank or any of these other Yeah.

Um, kind of business shows. Um, they talk about knowing your numbers, and sometimes that means what is your [00:13:00] profitability on the product or service that you're selling. So there's, there's revenue, there's profit, and there's, uh, expenses, right? And so. Revenue is obviously your gross amount, and then profit is what you have, have left after expenses.

Is that right?

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah, it could be variations of profit, but Yeah,

Angela Gennari: yeah, yeah. Basically

Tanya Akimenko: in the, in the simplest terms. In the

Angela Gennari: simplest terms, yes. And so, um, but when you have cost of goods sold, then those are the, that's the, can you, I'm, I'm gonna say it, but I'll butcher it. So why don't you tell me what cost of goods sold means?

Tanya Akimenko: So if you're looking overall at your expenses, the cost of goods sold to easily understand it's direct expense, like what does it actually cost me to produce or to provide the service direct expense. And then other expenses would be like your overhead, so like your office expense, like your cell phone, like the softwares you're using, things like that.

Angela Gennari: [00:14:00] Okay. So give me an example of cost of goods sold versus the things that are outside of that. Like you just said, well, outside of that would be cell phone, rent, you know, things like that.

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah. So if we're talking about like you're selling a book as one of your products. Mm-hmm. Right? The direct expense would be, um.

Hiring a publisher specifically for that book, hiring a Proofreader. Mm-hmm. I might be using the wrong words. The person who, editor. Editor, thank you, Uhhuh. That's a direct expense because that's an expense specifically to that book, to that product. And then of course, printing those books. And then of course, you know, shipping and setting it up.

Marketing even actually, even marketing specifically for that book is direct expense.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. So it's really important to understand what your cost of goods sold is so that you know how much margin you have. And this is one of the things that we do, um, is, you know, we're trying to decide on pricing for, [00:15:00] you know, we do staffing.

And so if we're trying to come up with a staffing price, we need to understand how much is gonna cost us in that state. To hire someone, put them to work, give them a uniform, get them trained, and all of that falls under cost of goods sold because, you know, we have to provide a service, which is a, you know, staffing.

And in order for us to do staffing, we have to understand what it costs us to actually put somebody in the position and including benefits, taxes, insurance, so forth.

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah. So those would be your direct expenses versus you and your assistant, those are overhead.

Angela Gennari: Right? Right, exactly. Okay, very cool. So what misconceptions do entrepreneurs typically have about bookkeeping?

Tanya Akimenko: Um, I would say that it's hard. Yeah. They, they listen to accounting, you know, uh, language and things like that. And it's not like they studied and I would say. They kind of have a freak out moment, like, oh, I don't [00:16:00] understand. This is too hard. I don't wanna do this, you know? Right. Uh. Once you actually sit down and if you hire an accountant and actually ask them, Hey, can you go over my reports with me so I can understand them?

Like that's what I found. Just doing the bookkeeping. Be like, Hey, this is your report was actually a disservice. Because they're like, oh, awesome. Cool. I got a report. You know? Mm-hmm. Every new customer we sign up. For bookkeeping services, we have the first month, the first time we send them a report, we actually do a Zoom and we literally go over their report, how they read it, how they can implement it, how can they make better business decisions financially.

Angela Gennari: Awesome. Okay. Very cool. All. So you mentioned, so let's go back to the tax thing because you know, again, it's, it's tax season and we're about to all get hit over the head with all this stuff right now. Um, so tell me, um, if somebody ends up with a big tax bill, I. Like, let's just say you [00:17:00] submit, everything comes back and now you owe this massive amount of money that you were not expecting because that's the one part about being a business owner that kind of sucks, is depending on how your company is structured, means you're paying taxes differently.

So whether it's an LLC or an S corp or a C corp, that all has a different tax structure. So what, what do business owners do if they can't afford the tax bill?

Tanya Akimenko: Um, so a lot of times people actually dunno, but IRS can set up a payment plan for you. Okay? You if, if it's a, under a certain amount and, um, let's just say under $50,000, you divide that by 72 and it's 72 months worth of payments.

That's what you can afford. You can fill out the payment plan online.

Both: Mm-hmm. And

Tanya Akimenko: the IRS will usually accept it, but then. What you really should focus on is correcting the situation and then going forward doing it right. So do the estimated payments, if you owed [00:18:00] last year, you're gonna owe this year.

Mm-hmm. So make sure you pay the estimated payments throughout the year so you're not hit with that huge bill.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. 'cause that's not a fun thing to have. I know. We, we've had those moments where we're like, oh, we had a great year, and then all of a sudden we get the tax bill. We're like, oh, yikes, we had a great year.

That sucked. So there are definitely those moments of, you know, celebration is short lived when you realize how much you have to pay in taxes after that. So,

Tanya Akimenko: yeah.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm. So,

Tanya Akimenko: and it's at your profit too?

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Because you know, here you are thinking that you've done really well and then all of a sudden you're like, oh wait.

Yeah, we didn't do as well as I thought because now all this. You know, money has to go away to the government. So, yeah. Um, one of, so my accountant one year, um, you know, we had finally, and, and this is after years of bootstrapping and barely making a profit and kind of eking by, um, we finally had a great [00:19:00] year and, um, my accountant was like, Hey, you had a really good year.

And I'm like, yeah, it was great. You know, I feel so good about it. And then he tells me he is like, um. You know, well, you're gonna owe this much in taxes. And I was so mad, and I was so angry that I had to pay in so much money in taxes after so many years of just trying and building this business and finally getting to the point where we're like, we have a profit.

And, um. And then he tells me, I, I have all this money to pay the government. And I'm like, why didn't you warn me that I should have spent the money? And so he's like, what do you mean? I said, I don't wanna have to, like, I could have spent this money on things that we were gonna spend this year. And like I could have, you know, invested ahead of time and, and, you know, done all these other things to create tax savings.

And he's like, Angela. I was, he said, you know, you, are you saying that you would rather spend a dollar than pay 30 cents to the government? And I said, yes, that's what I'm saying. And he was saying that. So, [00:20:00] and, and he warned me and he said, listen, just put the money in the bank. Pay the government and you'll be happy that you have money in the bank.

You're starting off. The year. Right. And I just really was struggling with it and, and I was just so angry that he hadn't prepared me to, you know, go and spend money that I, you know, could have saved from having to pay to the government. And I was so angry. And then a few months later. Covid happened.

Both: Oh.

And when

Angela Gennari: Covid happened, um, we were able to get through the entire year even though we were shut down for five whole months because we had money in the bank. So we were one of the few companies that survived in my industry. And, um, and he says, see now aren't you glad you had money in the bank?

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah, for sure.

Angela Gennari: But it was, yeah. So lesson learned and he was right, of course. You know, it was what I wanted to hear, but he was exactly right. So listen to your CPAs. [00:21:00] So tell me what stra tax strategies would you give to small business owners?

Tanya Akimenko: I, I actually created a. A tax deduction, cheat sheet because a lot of times small business owners might have taxed, and I've actually experienced this with my customers, they have tax deductions, but they don't realize it's a business deduction.

And they're like, what? I could have deducted that. What? That's a business deduction. Because so many people are scared of the IRS. They're gonna, I don't wanna do anything wrong, you know?

Both: Yeah. Yeah. Um,

Tanya Akimenko: but yeah, so I created a, a cheat sheet that kind of helps you think outside the box on each of the deductions.

Just kind of, there's a lot of deductions, of course, these are just like the 10 main ones. But it also gives you kind of an idea, Hey, what else could be tax deductible for my business? Because all industries are different. You know, it's tax deductible for one might not be tax [00:22:00] deductible for another.

Angela Gennari: Sure, yeah.

Yeah. So can you give me some of those?

Tanya Akimenko: Yes. So one of them is an office. A lot of people think, oh, I have a a home office and that's a deduction. I use my dining room, I use it a hundred percent for my business. No, you don't because it's a dining room and I'm sure you ate food there once. Right? Um, for a home office to be truly tax deductible, it has to be a designated a hundred percent designated, not shared with the family.

Both: Not

Tanya Akimenko: shared with your clothes, you know, if you're doing it a closet or whatever, you know it, it has to be a hundred percent designated. So I always say, designate a space in your, in your home. You know, like put a desk. It's, you know, instead of the dining room, if you wanna use the dining space area instead of a dining room, put in it.

A computer desk there. Set up your computer there. Take a picture for proof. Yeah. Yeah. That it's not a dining room. You [00:23:00] have all your stuff, you know that you have your screens and and keyboard and stuff, and it'd be hard to eat at that office desk.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Well, I eat at my office desk all the time, but it's like, only because I always work.

Tanya Akimenko: But same. Same,

Angela Gennari: yeah. But it's

Tanya Akimenko: designated office. Yes,

Angela Gennari: it is a designated office though, for sure. Um, okay. That's helpful. What about vehicles? I.

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah, there's a lot of misinformation with vehicles. Mm-hmm. Um, you have two options. You either use actual expenses, that's when you depreciate the vehicle. That's where you, um, use the gas receipts, use the maintenance receipts, or you use the miles.

What a lot of people don't know is it has to be designated for the business, so you have to have another vehicle. A lot of times it's just easier, um, to, to claim mileage. Also if you claim actual expenses, once you sell the vehicle or trade it in, you have to report that back as [00:24:00] income. And a lot of people don't know that and a lot of people forget that.

Angela Gennari: Hmm, interesting. And that could get you

Tanya Akimenko: in trouble.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. Really interesting. Yeah, I didn't know that. So would you recommend leasing a vehicle then? Because a lease is a tax write off, isn't it?

Tanya Akimenko: If it's used for business, a hundred percent, yes.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm.

Tanya Akimenko: Okay. You have to, I would recommend leasing. I actually recommend if it's financially working for you, because there is no one size fits all.

Some people are freaking out about leasing. They're like, no way would I lease a vehicle ever. So please don't lease if that's your mindset. Right,

Angela Gennari: right.

Tanya Akimenko: Other people. Or like, uh, I'd rather lease and just pay, you know, write it off on my taxes. I have a personal vehicle as well that's paid off, just, you know, that I use sometimes for personal reasons.

Yeah. Then if that's your mindset, then yeah, lease the vehicle. But financial decisions are 100% emotional decisions. People like to think they're [00:25:00] logical, but they're not.

Both: Mm-hmm. They're

Tanya Akimenko: emotional, and our emotions are tied in from like. Even a very young age from our parents instilled how we view money and how we view debt and how we view income, and then just in general.

So it all depends on how you feel and what works for you.

Angela Gennari: Hmm, that makes sense. So, um, so I know that, um, aside from the, the things that we think of all the time, like a vehicle or an office, there are other write-offs that you can make. Um, what about travel?

Tanya Akimenko: It has to be for business purposes. Mm-hmm. So if you are traveling, you should record, um, that the reason you traveled.

And honestly, the best way is send an email to your tax account and be like, Hey, I'm going to this, uh, trip and I'm gonna be doing this. And that creates proof

Angela Gennari: Uhhuh

Tanya Akimenko: that you sent. It has a date stamp and it's to your accountant that's gonna do your tax return.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. [00:26:00] Yeah. Interesting. So, um, and then one of the other things that I think is really important that, um, a lot of small businesses don't do and they need to be doing is keep all of your finances separate from the business.

Tanya Akimenko: 100%. Yeah. Do not commingle funds.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm.

Tanya Akimenko: Um, especially if you have an LLC or a corporation, because that's literally piercing the corporate veil as they call it. That's you saying? No, me and my business are one, not separated.

Angela Gennari: Right, and, and then your liability is what is affected. So it's not just finances, it's liability.

And then one of the reasons that you set up a corporation or an LLC is for that liability protection so that somebody can't come sue you and take your house. But at the same time, if you're, if you're commingling expenses and you know you're not separating the business from yourself, then legally you're not gonna find that that's gonna be easy to do either for liability purposes.

Tanya Akimenko: I [00:27:00] would agree, but that's more lawyer questions. Yes.

Angela Gennari: Yes, exactly. Um, all right. So, um, so tell me a little bit more about tax strategies as a small business. What can I be doing right now to prepare myself, um, for the tax deadlines?

Tanya Akimenko: Um, really just, well, if you're just now starting to prepare, um, I don't know when the s gonna go out, but if you're just starting out, I would say you're already kind of late.

Mm-hmm. You're gonna be in a rush. You're gonna forget things. Mm-hmm. It's much better to prepare throughout the whole year and then. You mentioned tax strategy, tax laws change every single year, and I recommend reaching out to your tax accountant in the summer. 'cause that's usually when they slow down.

Mm-hmm. And just ask for a tax strategy. Hey, can you look into my situation? Are there tax laws that are changing? Should I be doing something else because. Tax preparation, that's like recording the history [00:28:00] of what happened, tax planning, that's actually planning what's going to happen, that's setting up goals and things like that.

So those are two different things. Okay. And usually when, when the tax account is preparing your taxes, they're trying to meet the deadline. Mm-hmm. They don't. They probably don't even have like, the mental capacity to plan. Yes. Just 'cause they're so focused on getting this, you know, on the, on the compliance part.

Both: Mm-hmm. So,

Tanya Akimenko: um, yeah, to prepare for strategy, I recommend reaching out like in the summer and asking those questions for sure.

Angela Gennari: Okay. All right. Very nice. So, um. So, as women, we give away our power all the time, you know, in different ways. So who, how did you, how have you ever given your power away as a woman in business?

Tanya Akimenko: You know, that's actually a really good question. It's so true with women Uhhuh, it's so different than with men. And I have both women and men in business as my clients. Mm-hmm. And we are so [00:29:00] different how we give, make business decisions and things like that. So I would say. I'm much stronger now in, in my personality.

Mm-hmm. But in the beginning, you know, especially when I have a customer who is like strong willed and strong mind, and I'm like, here are my services, here are my prices. And they want to switch it up. They're like, no, I want this price, I want this service. And it's like, no, no, but I have this, you know? So a lot of times, uh, in the beginning, I'm more strict now.

Both: But in the

Tanya Akimenko: beginning I was like, okay, fine, I'll, I can do, I, I'll add this on for no additional price, you know? So, and then I realized. I'm giving my power away to my customers, and then they're calling me and interrupting me. Like with family time, I have no time for my daughter. Meanwhile, they're taking vacations, they're doing things like that, and I was like, no, I gotta, I gotta be more firm.

Like, these are the services. This is the price. I've done the calculation. This [00:30:00] is what it costs me. This is what I need to stay in business. And I've literally had to let some of my customers go and others I've told, listen, do you want me to do your taxes next year?

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Tanya Akimenko: And they're like, yeah, of course.

I'm like, then I need to be here next year.

Angela Gennari: Yes. Yes. A hundred percent. I agree with you. And I think for, for women, we, we underprice ourselves quite a lot. Because we feel bad. Yeah. And you know, again, it's just one of those ways that we give our power away is that we feel guilty for asking what we feel, you know, we deserve.

So,

Tanya Akimenko: that's so true. And like I've noticed that in other Whitman businesses too, while the men, they're like, oh, they charge. And I'm like, what?

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Tanya Akimenko: So yeah, that's, that's one of the differences too.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm. So what obstacles have you had to overcome in starting your business?

Tanya Akimenko: Um. So I actually had a quite a few, like from the beginning when I started out, I did the whole, the long distance learning.

It was in the middle of Alaska. There [00:31:00] was no fast internet. No college was online. Really? Yeah. Maybe the Phoenix one was just starting out, I think or something. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So I had to like mail in my tests and stuff like that. I had to find a person who would watch me take my test. Wow. Um, but I feel like because I have.

Even though I had the books and I had a professor that I could, you know, email back then, yeah. Um, I learned a lot because it was so much hands on. Um, like I had to do so much research initially, so like I feel like I have a different perspective because it was like that because of the, my journey. Then just in general, I went through a divorce and then I thought, accounting, who's gonna go from, for an accountant?

You know, it's only during taxes, things like that. It's not gonna be enough money. Like all these self-doubts.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. You know,

Tanya Akimenko: so it took a, a little while. And then of course, like undervaluing myself, you [00:32:00] know, not asking for enough, and I'm like, oh. I need to have a full-time job. And this is, this aside, 'cause it doesn't bring me enough money and things like that.

But then as my customer base grew and things like that, I actually ended up, um, purchasing a business, some from somebody who was retiring, you know? Mm-hmm. And once you like, go through the purchasing of a business, it's like a completely, like, you're like, oh, I'm like super legit, right? Like, I have all these responsibilities, you know?

Angela Gennari: Wow.

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah. So, um, I would say there was quite a few, but I think all the whole journey helps me understand business owners better because business journey's never a straight line. It is not, it is never.

Both: Mm-hmm. So.

Tanya Akimenko: Uh, versus someone who just works for like a CPA firm, you know, and they're just a W YouTube.

Mm-hmm. Even with auditors, you know, from the IRS, there's auditors, they don't understand the auditor business, you know, and I had [00:33:00] to, um, it was funny. I was in the middle of an audit and the auditor was talking about vehicles and stuff like that, you know, and he is like, well, I have three personal vehicles.

And I was like, do you have a business? You know, like he was saying that the business owner had. Three personal vehicles, or four, I don't remember how many vehicles they had. Mm-hmm. And so the auditor, he's like, well, I have three vehicles, you know? And I'm like, well, do you have a business? You use it a hundred percent for personal, 'cause you don't have a business, you know?

Right, right. So, and then with my employees, like my training for them, yeah, they go through the regular training and stuff, but then I'm like, okay, this is how we think. This is what we believe this is. Our mission, this is how we communicate with business owners. Mm-hmm. So I feel like the whole journey, um, helps me understand business owners.

Angela Gennari: Hmm. Absolutely. Which is not easy, you know, like we, we have such a different, um, mentality when it comes to, you know, having to save and in a retirement [00:34:00] because like for an entrepreneur, sometimes you, you get for retirement. What's left over, if anything. Right? Yeah. And so there's not that automatic 401k.

There's not that automatic savings. There's not automatic insurance. Like you hope you can afford insurance and you hope you can do this and you hope that you can, you know, put money away. But I. It's, it's not an automatic, it's not like a, you know, when you're a W2 employee and you've, you've structured out how your expenses are gonna go, because as an entrepreneur, you know, as you know, there could be one peak month of like, really high expenses and your top three clients didn't pay you yet.

And so Exactly. Now you're trying to figure, figure, figure out how

Tanya Akimenko: to make that work. I was gonna say with the entrepreneur, your income is never guaranteed. No. Like a W2 job. Mm-hmm.

Angela Gennari: Like a paycheck

Tanya Akimenko: job. Like Oh, that's why you have things on automation. That's right. Because it's a paycheck.

Angela Gennari: Yep. A hundred percent.

So, all right. So, um, what advice would you give to your 18-year-old self? I

Tanya Akimenko: [00:35:00] would say start sooner. Start the business sooner. Like do it sooner. Do it now. Mm. It's okay. Do it now. Mm-hmm. Um, I was always worried, um, 'cause I didn't have like the bachelor's degree, like I said, I had the certification and things like that and so I was always worried like, oh my gosh, they're gonna ask me, they're gonna ask where I went to school.

So I've been doing this for 20 years. Do you know how many people ask where I went to college?

Angela Gennari: Right? Probably not. Like a little

Tanya Akimenko: like probably three, maybe, maybe two or three. You know? And even then they're like, oh, it's okay. They, when you're a business owner and you're like working with customers, it's always like, what can you do for me?

They don't care about you.

Both: Yeah. It's always

Tanya Akimenko: like, what can you do for me? Yeah. And so that took a, um, like a while for me to realize, and that's more of a marketing situation. You know, once I like reworded my marketing and put it about the client and nothing about me, [00:36:00] then it totally made a shift. But that took years to learn.

So I would say it's not about you, it's about the client and start sooner.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's a really good, that's a really good point. Um, I. Okay. So, um, this has been really fun. I appreciate this, Tanya. So, any other advice that you would give to small business owners about cashflow or, um, bookkeeping?

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah, so I. Understand. I would say you have to understand how you make decisions. Mm-hmm. Because you can listen to business coaches and things like that, but that's not how you make decisions. You have to know what you are comfortable with. Again, like back to, should I lease or buy a vehicle? You have to know yourself and then don't be so afraid of bookkeeping.

That's your heartbeat. You need to focus on that.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Even if you just take, you know, 15 minutes in the morning to go through, [00:37:00] you know, a little bit of what's happening for the month and prepare yourself, it, it's, you know, just stay on top of it. I agree.

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah.

Angela Gennari: And I say that and I'm not the best at it, but thankfully I have people who are.

So, um, so, uh, one last thing, and this has been really enjoyable, but, uh, what do you wish more people knew? I.

Tanya Akimenko: That's a good question. Um, I wish more people knew that if I'm talking about like the business and taxes, I wish more people knew that IRS is made up of people too.

Both: Yeah. And

Tanya Akimenko: so. There's a person and there's so much gray area and it depends how the IRS agent trans, um, translates that information.

And if you are having it, if you have a business expense and pursuing income for your business, then that's a business expense and you shouldn't be so scared. As long as you can [00:38:00] defend, um, your expense, show how it relates to you earning income, then that's a business expense. But even with like my clients that I, that I have audits for, I'm like, listen, they're IRS people.

They're, I know they're mean and things like that, but they're still people. So the first step is to be nice.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. It's true. Yeah. You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar, that's for sure. So, all right, well thank you so much Tanya. This has been really fun and um, hopefully very helpful for all of our listeners.

Thanks for having me. Absolutely. So you guys, um, how can people find you, Tanya?

Tanya Akimenko: Yeah, so it's just through my website, golden Apple agency inc.com. I'm also on LinkedIn just with my name, Tanya Acumen, and then of course we have social media for Golden Apple Agency, Instagram and Facebook. They could find us like that.

Angela Gennari: Okay, perfect. And you guys can also find her on pretty powerful [00:39:00] podcast.com. Thank you so much for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you next time. Bye-bye.

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