Episode 112: Have Faith: Walk By Faith And Not By Sight With Angela Collie
We live in a world full of distractions. Sometimes, while on our way towards our goals, we get sidetracked and see only what's in front, forgetting about what we're working on in the first place. Amy Vetter's guest for this episode tells us the value of having faith, walking by it and not by sight. Amy sits down with Angela Collie, CPA, CEO of AFC CPA Accounting and Tax Services. In this interview, they discuss the importance of having faith and the belief that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Angela takes us across her journey of beginning her business and creating client advisory services, injecting the power of faith as she continues the path to achieving her goals and helping people fulfill their needs.
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Have Faith: Walk By Faith And Not By Sight With Angela Collie
Welcome to this episode of the show where I interview Angela Collie. She is the Founder and CEO of AFC CPA Accounting and Tax Services, a firm based in South Florida. She has over eighteen years of experience as a CPA and has received her Master's degree in Accounting from Florida International University. She is a member of the AI CPA and serves as the Treasurer of the South Florida Black Chamber of Commerce.
Angela has worked as a tax accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and later provided managerial accounting services to Cigna Healthcare, a Fortune 100 company, where she managed a team of remote international staff. During my interview with Angela, we talked about her journey of beginning her business and creating client advisory services and everything that came before it. We also discuss the importance of having faith and the belief that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to when you put the work to it as well.
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Welcome to this episode of the show where I am interviewing Angela Collie. Angela, would you like to get started and tell a little bit about your practice?
First of all, thank you so much for the invitation. I consider it an honor to be here. I am Angela Collie and I am the CEO and Founder of AFC CPA Accounting and Tax Services. We help businesses keep and grow the money that they earn by providing tax planning and cash management solutions. We found that business owners, especially small business owners, knew how to make a product. They knew how to offer the service, but they were not keeping the money and growing it. Our firm focuses on taking that money and helping the entrepreneur expand.
I’m so glad to talk to you. Angela's been a part of my client advisory services workshop. I learned a lot about Angela and thought she'd be a great guest for the show. This episode will have lots of lessons for all of you out there. To begin, where did you grow up? What did your parents do? What was your background?
I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida. I am born and raised and have never left South Florida. I don't ever want to leave. The weather is perfect. It's 80 degrees outside. We have awesome beach weather. We don't live too far from the beach. Even where I was born, we were ten minutes from the beach. I love the water and the beach. My mother was a registered nurse. My father worked for UPS. He was in management, but he started out driving the little brown truck. He was a staff of 33 years. They went public in 2000 or 1999. Since he had that management position, he was able to retire at the age of 52 years old. My mom also retired around that time. They taught us to work hard and it'll pay off what you did for them.
What did they do in their retirement?
They traveled. My dad is a golfer. He's been an avid golfer since he was a teenager. They traveled, went on cruises, and were able to help us. At that time, I had finished my bachelor's and had a desire to stop working and pursue my Master’s full-time. My plan was to get my bachelor's, work full-time, and go back to school part-time. I had bills. I had a new car. I wrote down that I would like to attend school full-time, so my mom spoke with my dad. I was able to stop working for a whole year and pursue my Master’s full-time. It really changed everything in my life being to speed up that time as far as getting that degree and the CPA.
That is so awesome. What Master’s did you get?
I have a Master's degree in Accounting. I have a story, but I'll save that for later. I have always had a desire to work. When I was eighteen years old, in my senior high school, I wrote down on a piece of paper that I would work for Pricewaterhouse or Coopers & Lybrand.
How did you know about them?
My brother was an accounting major. He went to Jackson State on a golf scholarship and pursued accounting. He is seven years older. He was the one that introduced me to the world of accounting. As a child, I had no idea what an accountant was, but I always liked money, loved numbers, and wanted to be a banker. It also opened up my view of the profession when he was in high school, taking different courses in accounting.
What did you love about money? What was it that drew you to that?
How there has to be exactness. I like exactness. I like reconciliations. I like having everything balanced out to zero and also watching it grow. You can see how you can take it from little, and like a tree, it can blossom into something that can change your life.
Where else in your childhood do you think that was where you needed the exactness or everything to fit together? Were there other hobbies that you did when you were younger where you found that same delight in that feeling?
I'm the baby of the family. I have an older brother and two sisters. Sometimes, the baby can somewhat get pushed over, so I had to know my facts. I had to know what was going on and have a good memory to stand up for myself. I would say being the baby in the family and having to not, per se, prove myself, but just making sure that I have my facts straight.
You got to make you got your fair share. With your mom being a nurse, were you involved with that at all? How did that affect you?
Not at all. However, when we first began the CAS program in 2021, I wanted to specialize in the nursing agency industry. She was one of my inspirations as far as wanting to serve that particular industry. My sister is also a nurse. I would witness her help people. The compassion she had for those that are hurting inspired the CAS trajectory. However, I had to find my own, which I ended up changing to the commercial real estate industry, but having a heart for people that she has.
An important part of having a business is evaluating where your right fit is. It doesn't mean you have to give that up forever. It just means that maybe in a year or so, you'll come back and look at that area, but another niche popped up as more of an opportunity at this moment.
The program helped me to map that out. Having that twelve-month roadmap, I was able to put everything on paper, take a step back, and then look and see, “Is this really what I want?” I want to thank you for the opportunity.
You're welcome. Your business happens or you have ideas of what you want, but until you think through all the mechanics of it, you're like, “Is this the right path? Which one is?” Having the discipline to do that is important. It takes an investment of time to do that in your business. When you graduated with your Master’s, what were you doing?
This is a story because one of the questions was, what's the foundation of my path? I could say it is faith. Going back to the twelfth grade, I wanted to work for Pricewaterhouse or Coopers & Lybrand. In 2000 or before 2000, they merged as PricewaterhouseCoopers. During that semester of my Master’s, we had a job fair at FIU here in South Florida. I had a very good GPA. I was very involved in different committees, but I took one resume to the job fair to one table and that was it.
I had no job. I was going to graduate in two months, so I took my resume to the PricewaterhouseCoopers table, gave it to them, shook their hand, and walked out of the gymnasium. I did not go to any other table. I had nothing against Deloitte, but that's not what I want. That's not what I believe that I could have. I gave them my resume in February 2000. I got a letter and it said, “Thank you for your resumé. You desired to work in the tax department. However, your Master’s is in Accounting.” I was like, “I would have to go back to school for two more years and get that Master’s in Taxation. I can't do that.”
Faith: Don't go by what you see or what you fear. If it's in your heart that you desire something, and you know it's supposed to be yours, don't let anything or anyone take that away.
The foundation that I was raised on was to walk by faith and not by sight. It means not to let no be final and don't let circumstances determine your outcome. It’s a Bible verse. It says to close your eyes and walk. It means to not go by what you see and what you fear. If it’s in your heart that you desire something and you know that it's supposed to be yours, don't let anything and no one take that away. If there's a desire, it means that is out there for you. As we were children, my mother would teach us Bible studies and that was one of the lessons that we learned. To walk by faith and not by sight means that I can’t see it or touch it, but it's there.
I got that letter in the mail and it said, “We’re sorry. We require your Master’s to be in Tax.” I was like, “I can't go back to school for another two years.” My parents were supporting me for that whole year, paying my bills and paying for my Master's. A friend of mine worked there at the firm. She knew the HR manager. She gives my resumé to the HR manager there, and when the HR manager gets to the bottom of the resumé, it has my church. I find out she went to the same church, but it was a huge church, so we didn't know each other.
Long story short, they called me for the interview. I interviewed well and I got the job in the tax department. Do you see that? It’s breaking beliefs. At first, I was disappointed, but I remembered faith. All because they say they no, keep going, and that you're open. I was able to work in their tax department for three and a half years. Bringing my resumé, I opened many other doors. That’s the true story.
How did you know your friend who worked there?
From FIU. We were friends from school. We were on different projects together and we developed a relationship. She worked there. Another friend of mine also worked there. That's why relationships are so important. She had a great relationship with the HR manager. Be it known that I had to meet with the on-campus recruiters and the managing partners. I still had to do my part, but it led to that letter that said, “You are qualified.” It had no bearing on it.
When you hear no, you know what your other options are and how you can get in front of somebody because instead of just being on paper, how do they meet you? You’re thinking about your network and not taking that network for granted. You never know when someone's going to need you or you’re going to need them. It's important to keep those relationships going because a lot of people will try to get through what they could get through on their own and need people.
The friend also knowing my character knew that I would be a hard worker because she put her career on the line by bringing me to the HR manager. Don't burn bridges. We were friends, but even in friendship, your character, integrity, and effort show.
The other thing that is important is you talked about your church that was listed at the bottom. I always say to my kids to list all their unique things on their resumes. They don't tell you that in school because it only has this much space. I'm like, “I don't care if it goes to two pages.” I'm in music, so if I see someone that's a musician, that's a conversation point in an interview to find where those commonalities are.
I have been serving in the community. I was a Sunday school teacher. I taught the little kids at the age of nineteen. On the bottom, it said that I was teaching the children in the name of the church. She said, “That’s my church.” I believe that if that wasn't on there, there would have been no common ground or commonality. Who knows how things would have gone? Having service, putting it down on my resumé, and her connecting with that opened the door.
It can’t just be your grades or hard work. It's the other things that you do as well that matter. You were able to achieve that dream of working there. Why did you end up leaving and moving on?
I ended up leaving because I was doing tax. Even though I was doing tax, I knew that I didn't want to stay in tax. To be honest, I wanted to be a partner of a firm, but I knew that I would have to be well-versed. A friend of mine was the controller at a property management firm here in Florida. I called him and he said, “We had created a position for an assistant controller.” I met with him and the CFO. I knew the controller because I was involved in different committees at FIU. It’s this pattern once again with that connectedness and relationship.
When I called him to let him know that I wanted something more, something different, and something that would be more expansive, he said, “We're interviewing.” I went during my lunch break for the interview. I had just one interview with the CFO and ended up meeting the owner. He's very well-known here in Florida. I got the job making $13,000 or $14,000 more as the assistant controller. I was able to see accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll. This was a commercial real estate industry, which is what I'm serving via my CFO finance. It's all connected. It's amazing.
I do think it's important. A lot of times, it's hard to make those shifts in your career because you're a beginner again. You got this good at tax, but in order for you to broaden your scope, you have to start that learning process again as an assistant controller. How was that feeling when you were trying to make sure they felt good that they hired you, but it's a much different position?
It was very different, and this is a true story. I'm in my office and I'm reviewing the work that the accountant is doing. I have to review a bank reconciliation. I didn’t know how to do a formal bank reconciliation. The controller closes my door and says, “This is how you do it.” He taught me to do a bank rec. In tax, there's no bank rec. I never did a formal one myself. It was my first time out of college. From college, I went to PWC and then became an assistant controller. I never had any experience. I was walking by faith and not by sight. I didn't tell myself I can't do it. I believed that the provision would come as far as what I would need to know to learn the education.
You also have to be vulnerable to tell him, “I could use your help on this.”
It’s something so simple. The staff had no idea that I didn’t know what I was doing. It was 6:00 PM. I stayed late and he stayed late. Everybody else was gone. He showed me, and once he showed me, I got it. They had no clue.
I had the same experience. I had done bank recs in my checking account when I was younger, but when you go to these big firms, you're not in the details of the work. I was on the audit side. I had audited bank recs but never done one. When I started my client advisory services practice, my first client was a bookkeeping client. Doing my first bank rec, I was like, “This is why they were complaining about this or that when I was auditing them.” It's one of those lessons in life that to manage people, you have to know how things work to help them be successful as a manager.
You're right because that's the choice of all of my positions. I left that job and went to a Fortune 100 company. There was no training. Here, I have another staff coming to me for help. During my first week in the position, people who have been there for years were coming for guidance and help. How I got that job was because of relationships, but this was through the interview and throwing my authenticity. There was somebody that I felt was more qualified than I was, but because I had the relational part down, I was hired for the position.
With that, when did you start your own practice and why did you do that?
In 2017, I had been at the company for about twelve years. I had this desire for more inside. There was a calling. I called my sister and I said, “I feel like there’s more. Do you think I could do baking?” She goes, “Stay in your lane. Do accounting. Do tax. Do something. Don't go all out there. Be quiet and see what that is.” Be it known that I had been doing bookkeeping and taxes on the side since 2006. For years, I always had a side business. I had the desire to do more.
At that time, my children were in school. They told me, “We want to be car riders.” Car rider means that you've been picked up at 2:00 PM in the car and that you’re not there at 6:00 PM. They were saying, “We are getting tired of coming home at nighttime.” They were about 6 and 8 at the time. They were like, “We want to be car riders.” I said, “Let’s do this.” It was faith once again. I said, “Let's set a date for mommy to transition from her full-time job into a business full-time”
Faith: Our lives are mapped and planned out, but we have to be open enough to be aware of the next step. Keep out the noise and the clutter. We should always be growing and going to that next level.
I set a date of April 1st, 2019. I put it in the car. It said, “April 1st, 2019. Go live.” As I drove them to school, we would say it. They were like, “We’re so happy that mommy’s going to go live on April 1st, 2019.” This was in 2018. We're driving and I would look at that date. I would affirm that date. I prayed, “Lord, please let it happen for me and the children,” because they were saying, “We miss you. We aren't having enough of you.” They were my why.
Sure enough, on April 1st, 2019, I went live in my business full-time. It's amazing how when you write it down, believe it, and don't let the outside noise of negativity come to you, it happens because your dreams can come true. I also had a coach. She’s phenomenal. She coached me from my corporate job into the business full-time. As a result, I was able to start the business without a beat seamlessly.
There are so many things in there to unpack. What do you think drives that feeling inside of you to do more? Is it anything that has to do with your parents, your siblings, or being that youngest person always wanting to keep up? What do you think drives that within you?
It’s the calling of others. People have needs. There were business owners that were probably saying, “We need the services. We need you.” It’s that longing to help people and to fulfill the needs of others in addition to my children. First of all, it was them calling on me to somewhat say, “I want more of mom and more fun times,” because I now have the flexibility. It is having that desire to be served and prepared. I believe that our lives are mapped out and planned out, but we have to be open enough to be aware of the next step. Keep out the noise. Keep out the clutter. I believe that we should always be growing and going to that next level. I call it phase two. That's what I believe.
I know that when you started the workshop, you talked about your kids, which is important when we talk about our purpose and our why. They could be our family, friends, or whatever that may be. We can think that starting a business gives us more freedom until we start a business and we have no freedom except that we work for ourselves. What do you think you have been doing as an entrepreneur or a business owner to set boundaries, or is that something you've reset through the business plan?
In business, you're trying to take anything because you want to make money and people are asking. How do you make sure that you fulfill that purpose? You've brought it up so many times in making sure you can be there to pick up your kids and not feel stressed out while you're doing it, but there's other client work you need to be doing. What is it that you're doing to make sure you protect that?
I would say it’s having a coach and connecting with someone that's been there and done that instead of hitting your head and trying to figure it out. I've had to cope since I had the desire to start my business full-time. That began in 2017. In 2017, her first focus was holistic. She said, “Don't get into business and then regret it.” She was like, “Do you and your husband go on date nights? Do you all have time with your children? What activities are you all doing as a family apart from your business?” Having that foundation was awesome.
Sometimes, we can veer off. She was the first coach, and then I had the one that transitioned me from my corporate job into a business full-time. After that, it’s yourself and having a plan. I would say that one of the key factors is to get the wisdom of others that have gone before you to make your road and your path easier. I believe in investing in yourself also. Some people think it’s an expense, but you have to invest in yourself and take the time.
That’s important because it's having the awareness that you need others to help you in that process, but then it's working with them toward it. There are people that come into a process and be like, “I'm going to do it. I'm not going to listen to that.” They keep paying for a coach and they keep doing the same thing over and over again.
Anyone that's doing business planning or learning or education has to meet that halfway. You may have to change things that fit your way of doing business, but you don't want to lose the framework of what someone's teaching you to make sure that you are successful at it. That's the hard part a lot of times because you're like, “Do I want to do that?”
I've always been a good student. Being the baby, I listened. I had older sisters and I learned from their examples and from their mistakes. I always told my mom, “I don't have to touch the stove to see that it’s hot. If you say that it’s hot, I'm not going to touch it.” I also know Bob Proctor. He’s no longer here, but he had a program and said that the successful ones were the ones that did everything that they were told. It's a formula.
If I give you the number to any one of my coaches, they would tell you, “Angela did the process.” I saw the results. It was action and discipline, and not going by how I felt because maybe I didn't feel like doing it, but I still did it. I've reaped the benefits. Even with your program, it is setting those goals. I have children. I have a husband. My mother is here. My father passed from COVID in 2021.
I'm sorry.
She's here with me. Despite what life throws at you, having that guideline and that roadmap can keep you on track. You have to commit to yourself to get it done.
I did this speaker training. I had never done speaker training in all the years I've been a speaker. I was like, “I'm going to sign up for training and see what I don't know and what I can improve.” In that training, there were a lot of athlete keynote speakers that talked about their journey. What was interesting was we'd have these sessions and the people that ran the training would interrupt you. They would call it master classes and keep giving you notes.
There was an athlete on stage and he was giving her his notes and things she needed to improve. Everyone was watching it, and after he did it, he turned to us and said, “I want you to notice the difference between coaching an athlete and coaching a business owner,” because an athlete is used to being coached. They’re waiting for that thing that will cut them half a second off, or they're waiting for anything that you have to say to them that's going to improve their performance.
People in business take offense or we step back and say, “Why do you think that? Maybe I'll do that.” I never thought about it before of being coachable. It's a real thing, no matter who you are. If you're not coachable, what do you have to do to change that? It's very hard to help someone improve when they're not coachable.
When I began as a Sunday school teacher, I was trained. I was told, “You are coachable. You listen.” I also have a very high sense of self-awareness, meaning that I feel that sometimes, insecurity may prevent people from opening up and being coachable and getting offended by it. Being the baby, I was told what to do. I have my own mind, but I knew when to and when not to, and it has been working so far.
Not only that, I'm sure the readers can notice the light that shines through in the environments that you're in. It’s contagious. Especially in the workshop, it is contagious to everyone else. Everyone lifts each other up even when they're at down moments. When they see what you're struggling with or someone else is struggling with, being that light is important to the people around you as well, not just yourself.
When we meet, I have so much to share, but I try to honor the time, but you'll be amazed. List it down and write it down. I also believe in prayer and having that faith, meaning that if I put it down no matter what, this is what's going to happen. I can also make a comparison to the gym. I went to the gym and the trainer said, “Do something.” I said, “I can't do that, but I closed my eyes and I did it.” Don't be afraid of something that you've never done before. Try it. It wasn't perfect, but it's growth. We also get that from the advisory training.
That's the thing. We become experts. All the things we've talked about in your journey, you're an expert in tax, then you moved to the corporate, and then became an expert in that. You're learning to be an expert, and the thing is, you have to learn. The thing is, you have to start over and be a beginner again each time. Be vulnerable to the learning journey, which is tough.
Faith: Connect with someone who has been there and done that instead of hitting your head and trying to figure it out.
I always tell my children that whatever you sow, you’re going to reap. If you aren't coachable, then when you go to coach somebody, that's going to come back on you. In addition, if you don't learn, then you don't have many things to offer. I don't know why I brought that up, but I love that quote. When you have positive thoughts, you’re going to get positive outcomes.
You said that you've got a book coming. Did you want to talk a little bit about that?
Yes, I do. The book is called Girl, Boss Up and Lead. I've been approached by a friend to be a part of her project. I'm a coauthor. We are telling our stories of how we transitioned from Corporate America to business full-time. Back in 2012, I had my daughter and someone said, “You should start your business full-time.” I didn't think that I could. I'm like, “I can't do that. I have a 401(k). I have insurance.” I didn't believe that I could do it. The book discusses that journey.
I was breaking beliefs because I was so conditioned to be an employee to where being an employer wasn't even foreseeable for me. That awakening inside started about five years later. I was making sure I was coached properly in order to do it full-time, and it has been a success. The book is on preorder. Girl, Boss Up and Lead is saying, “Be free. Become aware of who you are and express that.”
It's important that a lot of that comes in steps. It comes in your life at the right times that financially, you might not be in the position to do it. You prepared for a long time. You did it as a side hustle. I always recommend that to make sure it is even working you want to do. I had a yoga studio that I closed, which was hard, but when I originally opened it, I thought I would eventually quit my job and that's what I would do full-time. Once I started running the business and the business side of it, I was like, “I don’t think I can do this full-time.” I love yoga. I love teaching yoga, but would I want to be running this full-time? Probably not.
The second thing that we didn't talk about but is important, especially in these times and to the accounting profession and the younger accountants, is you are going to hit these moments of, “Can I do more? Is there more?” You can pivot with what you do and be able to find purpose, but to completely start something new without testing it or knowing it is the right thing. There are so many things you can do in this profession that people don't even realize. It’s going to conferences, getting out in your networks, and learning where the opportunities are before you turn away from your years and years of experience.
When I first had that awakening, I was about to go left field. Thank goodness for my sister. She said, “Don't be a baker. Don't go do something way off. Stay in your lane and explore.” You're right. I believe that your opening up the yoga facility was a passion of yours. I'm watching on Facebook all the time. I love how you go to the concerts and the yoga. You have fun, but you still have that foundation of the accounting profession.
I have some quick-fire questions that I like to end the episode with. Pick a category, family and friends, money, spiritual, or health?
Let’s go with family.
What are things or actions that you don't have that you want?
More date nights with my husband.
What are things or actions you do have that you want to keep?
Loving my life and keeping my faith.
What are things or actions you don't have that you don't want?
Drama. My life is simple. It’s not complicated. I keep the negativity away.
This is the last one. What are things or actions that you do have that you don't want?
These ten pounds. Ten more pounds at the gym and I’ll be good.
You're on your plan for that. Is there anything else you want to re-emphasize or something we didn't cover that you want to make sure we end with?
Make sure that you stay aware of the awakening inside. I believe that we all go through different phases of our life. Believe. As the Bible verse says, “Walk by faith and not by sight.” Don't go by what you hear, what you feel, or what others are telling you. Always be led by God. I believe that the doors are open. Don't be afraid of not being able to. I believe that if you put your mind to it and you have seen it, believe it and go for it.
Thank you so much for being our guest. I appreciate it. There were so many great lessons.
It's been an honor. Thank you so much.
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For my Mindful Moments with my interview with Angela, there are so many good tidbits in here, but it has an overall theme of faith and how that's helped Angela throughout her career to accomplish the things that she has done in her business and also in her personal life. She talked about the importance of seeing her parents being hard workers, creating the life that they wanted to create in retirement, and supporting her and her siblings as they got older to make sure that they achieve their dreams.
Angela described herself as one of the youngest and always looking to others to see their mistakes so she wouldn't make the same mistakes. Also, testing out the things she wanted to do to make sure that she would be able to accomplish what she wanted in her life. Early on, she also saw that she loved money. She loved watching it grow. She loved the exactness of money. For many accounting professionals, that has driven their decision to be accountants because they like how the puzzle works together.
It's important to understand what drives us that it's not just the thing that we do, but it's the feeling that it creates within us of accomplishment. When others can't see that fulfillment, it's important that we recognize the things that fulfill us in the work that we're doing. One of the things that were clearly a big area that helped her achieve was her parents allowing her to take off from work that year so she could get her Master’s.
Going back to having faith, she had always dreamed of working for PWC. She went to a job fair and that's the only place she applied. I thought that took so much guts when she was talking about believing in your heart that you could get it. When she didn't get accepted, she didn't stop and didn't give up. She didn't sit there and feel bad for herself. Instead, she thought, “How else can I get this?” That's where she kept talking about this Bible verse, “Walk by faith and not by sight,” which helped her in making sure that she could achieve her dreams.
She looked for friends and networks of people who worked at the firm she wanted to work at. On her resume, she also listed the community service that she did at her church, which bonded her with the HR person that was at PWC that eventually helped her get that role. We can't ever forget how important the outside activities we do are and how they affect others.
When we give back, it can give back to us without us even realizing in what ways. The network and the relationships that we create are so important in making sure that we can achieve the things that we want. A lot of times, we think we can do it alone, but it's important that we have a village around us that is going to help us.
We then talked about her transitions going through corporate, being a beginner again, and learning new roles, but she has come into her own in the last few years of starting her own client advisory services practice. I watched Angela. When she talks about working hard and following a plan that she’s given, she has done that. It shows success when somebody is following all the things you are telling them are best practices and then seeing their business blossom because of it. It's not just the business side that is important in our practices or businesses. It's also the quality of life that we're creating.
I loved that she had a sign in her car for her kids to see, which was, “April 1st, 2019,” every day. When they were asking her to change her life, they could see their mom was working toward it. The lesson in that is it is so important for kids to see what she did to lead up to it to make sure that it happened. You write down those goals. You put them on paper or whatever you need to do so that you're seeing them every day and it becomes embedded in who you are.
She pulled in experts from the outside to help her with making sure she could be coached through these transitions and have the faith that it would work out. She had the side business for a while until it was deciding to give up the stability of a corporate job and go into business for herself. What's important as we go through business, which we talked a lot about, was to make sure that the intention of going into business for herself was to have that work-life boundary. If she couldn't find it in her corporate life, how is she going to make sure to maintain it in her business life?
We talk a lot about in the workshops that we do that it's not about the numbers and how much money you can make, but it's also about achieving the things you want for the people around you. She said having date nights has been important and making sure she has a plan to make sure that those things happen.
She has invested in herself and also taken in the wisdom of others to make sure that she can follow a plan and take it to success, and she can learn from the mistakes of others and also look at her own vulnerability when she needs to learn to be a good student so that she can achieve what she wants as well.
We've talked about the importance of being coachable, and that's what this is all about. Whether you're in a corporate job, working on a firm, or have your own business, there's never a time that we don't need coaching tips to make sure that we keep getting better, we keep standing back, looking at how we could do things better, how we can interact better, and so forth.
When we make these changes, it’s important to think about where our expertise is, what the value is that we are trying to create in the world, and where it is that we are going to feel fulfillment so that we can be completely aware of the experience that we are in and feel that sense of accomplishment. Even if it's small wins, little by little through time, by looking back at all of those things, you can see how far you've come.
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About Angela F. Collie
Angela F. Collie, CPA is the founder and CEO of AFC CPA Accounting & Tax Services (“AFC”) an Accounting and Tax Services firm based in South Florida. Angela has over 18 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant. She received her Master’s degree in Accounting from Florida International University, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and serves as the Treasurer for the South Florida Black Chamber of Commerce. Angela has worked as a tax accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, and later provided Managerial Accounting Services to Cigna Healthcare, a Fortune 100 Company, where she managed a team of remote international staff.