Episode 115: Work Hard: Nothing Is Unachievable With Sona Akmakjian
You can thrive in your career without sacrificing big things in your life. You have to remember what’s most important for you, work hard, and focus on your goals in different areas of your life. Join your host Amy Vetter as she sits down for an insightful conversation with the Global Head of Strategic Accounting Partnerships for Avalara, Sona Akmakijian, about working hard and achieving dreams. They discuss Sona’s beginnings as an immigrant from Armenia, how the life lessons she learned from her parents have carried on to work she does today, and the importance she places on family. In this episode, Sona discusses how she set boundaries around her career and how she overcame the guilt of leaving her children so she could excel professionally.
---
Watch the episode here
Listen to the podcast here
Work Hard: Nothing Is Unachievable With Sona Akmakjian
In this episode, I interview Sona Akmakjian. She is the Global Head of Strategic Accounting Partnerships for Avalara. Sona is Avalara’s executive-leaning global accountant partnerships and programs. She is a California CPA with many years of transactional tax services in both advisory and automation. She is recognized for her deep industry expertise and her passion for the industry.
Her vision is to offer innovative solutions that enable firms to support clients with end-to-end scalable global solutions. She advocates global strategic, mutually beneficial relationships with all accounting firms. She has experience in multiple tax segments, including the Big 4, state agency administering, sales and use taxes, tax software companies and mid-sized firm consulting. During my interview with Sona, we discussed her beginnings as an immigrant from Armenia, how the life lesson she learned from her parents have carried to the work she does now, and the importance that she places on family.
This episode is sponsored by Avalara. Did you know that 52% of accounting practitioners, large and small, still rely on spreadsheets and manual processes for sales tax compliance? Using Avalara’s award-winning technology, you can move your accounting practice to the 21st century and start or grow a cash or tax-compliant service line.
The Avalara for Accountants automation platform helps accounting service providers of all sizes grow their service offerings with sales tax prep and filing, transfer pricing, tax research, business license management and more. Scale your practice efficiently with this award-winning automation that brings efficiency and accuracy to sales tax compliance while reducing the risk for your practice and your clients.
If you’d like to learn more about Avalara, you can go to Accountants@Avalara.com or visit them at Avalara.com/accountants. I can tell you this solution I used in my own practice many years ago and have seen the growth in their automation capabilities that Avalara has put into their product. For someone like myself that didn’t want to get in trouble with sales tax with my clients, Avalara was a great partner. I hope you enjoy this interview with Sona. There are so many great lessons for all of us to think about as we bring them into our business and family relationships.
---
In this episode, I'm with Sona Akmakjian from Avalara. Sona, do you want to just start off and give us a little background on yourself before we begin?
I'd love to. Thank you for the opportunity, Amy. My name is Sona Akmakjian. I'm the Global Head of Strategic Accounting Partnerships at Avalara. Although I've been at Avalara for a couple of years, I've been in the sales and use tax consulting advisory and automation industry for more than 30 years. I’ve worked for and with accounting firms of different sizes and have an exciting job that I'm passionate about now at Avalara. I help accountants of all sizes grow their practice by leveraging technology and I have a lot of fun doing it.
I am so excited to jump into that. Avalara has been a long-time relationship for me. When I had my accounting practice many years ago, I used Avalara in its very beginning when I started seeing we were going to get in trouble with sales tax very fast because I wasn't a sales tax expert. It was hugely helpful in my practice. I love working with Avalara and seeing all the advancements they've made over time.
We'll get into that toward the end of more of what Avalara does, but to begin, what we like to do on this show is just delve into people's stories because everyone has a story. What makes us, us develops us over time. Maybe you can start out with where you were born. Where did you grow up? What did your parents do? What were their jobs? Did you have siblings?
I'm an immigrant. My family immigrated to the US from Armenia back in the late '70s. I was a child in elementary. I was eight years old and I came here not even speaking English. I was one of those shy kids in school that sat in the back, unable to communicate. I had a language barrier. My family immigrated here with three children and had one more child in the US. I'm one of four girls. We always said my dad was one lucky man to have five women around him.
My parents struggled. They came here and financially struggled. They, too, didn't speak the language. I took a lot of pride in what they accomplished. My dad worked very hard. My mom has never worked in life because she was busy enough transporting four kids to and from school. He worked super hard and accomplished a lot. He taught us some good that will stay with us and I hope to transfer to my children.
Maybe we can step back on why did they immigrate to the US?
Armenia back then was a republic of Russia. It was a communist country. The opportunity for their children was limited there and they wanted to do more for us. Through sponsorship, which took five years in the making, we finally immigrated to the US, which was hard for them because they gave up everything because it was a communist country. They couldn't bring anything. We came with a luggage each. You couldn't bring money or jewelry. It was just a wedding band and whatever clothes you could get into your luggage. We moved to the US and started from scratch.
My grandparents were immigrants from Russia. We've never talked about this. The only thing that they brought was a menorah and two Shabbat candlesticks. I keep them out and they're heavy. I don't know what the story is behind them. I wish I did because it was my great-grandparents that brought these. My grandmother died when I was probably in eighth grade, but they had family in Minnesota, so they had come through Canada to meet family there. Did he have family here?
My mom had uncles and somebody had to sponsor you. You have to go through the formal process and go through the immigration process. We were lucky that we had family here and they went through the process. We can talk about it, but it's a big move. Think about taking your three kids, moving to the country, not taking anything with you and hoping it's going to work out. That's a big risk, but they did it to provide their children with a better life. There are a lot of people with a similar story in our culture, Armenians, but it seems like your grandparents have a similar story as well.
I've thought about it so much, just that spirit of taking that huge risk because you know it'll be better for future generations, but it's not necessarily better for you now. It's very sacrificing for everyone else. It's such a huge decision to make and how I've benefited because a couple of generations ago, it's amazing how much difference it did make. I've always felt a big sense of duty to do something with the sacrifices they made. They didn't know who I was going to be one day when they made that.
We went back for the first time many years ago with my parents and my husband. I remember saying, “Dad, thank you so much. Thank you for bringing us here and giving us the opportunity.” It's so different. I feel like I've had a better life, but my children will as well and it's all because of the sacrifices they made.
What was his job in Russia?
He was a welder in Russia, but coming to the US not knowing anything, he learned a new profession and he was in the automotive business. He worked repairing cars and he worked hard for free to learn the profession. We live in the land of opportunity. We were fortunate that we got government aid for him to provide food for his four children while he learned a career. By the time he retired, he was a business owner and he bought rental property. I lost my dad a few years ago and he's set up a good life for his wife and for his children and the future. He was a very hard worker and I've learned a lot of life values from him.
I assume this was a struggle for your mom to stay home, but I guess with that many kids, there wasn't an option.
It was a struggle. She didn't have an option. With four kids, what could she possibly work and how could it cover the childcare costs? She's always taught her daughters to pursue education and work because she's always said a housewife's job is unappreciated. You need to go out there, you need to take care of yourself and anyone else who comes along with you and be independent. Those were the values she's taught us and I have three other sisters and we all work.
Why did she feel unappreciated?
She just felt that she missed out on that opportunity to be a career person to pursue her education. It was different times back then and she wanted us to work, contribute and be successful.
As far as your dad, you said that he ended up being an entrepreneur. What was that path to doing that?
Over the years, he worked for a couple of people and he lost his job. He said, “I think I want to work on my own.” We were such a tight family. We all supported each other. I did his accounting and my sisters would do something else. He ran it and he worked, but he had a lot of help from his daughters on the side. What made him successful was the bond, connection, sense of community and support he had in his business.
As far as with your sisters, where are you in that line? Are you oldest or middle?
I'm the second from the oldest. I have one older and two younger siblings.
Work Hard: A wife's job is usually unappreciated and you need to go out there, take care of yourself, and be independent.
How was that as far as supporting one another through something like that?
I've always had such a great relationship with my siblings. They are my best friends. They are my sisters. They're my confidants. There is not a day where I don't communicate with them generally through texts. We have a group text and we're always communicating. We're a very tight family. People will say they argue with their siblings. They don't get along with them or they're not close to them. I would refuse to move out of state because of my tight connection to my family. I have been one of those people that would not relocate for work because my lifeline has always been my sisters and my family.
With your sisters, do you think anything from being an immigrant and going through all of that with your family made you closer as a family? What have you learned about keeping a family closer and tight like that?
I learned that a lot came from our parents and the environment they created. The family values that they put out there for us. We always have dinner together. That was our time and we had no distractions. It was about how our day was and what we learned. We would share stories. Those are my childhood memories. I feel that my parents did a good job at creating that environment to enable us to have that bond.
Is that anything that you've kept yourself?
Family dinners are a must in my house. We turn off the TV and put away our phones. We talk about our day. It's such a strong memory of me growing up. I created that same environment in my family.
What did you dream of being when you were a little girl coming into the US? You said you were shy because of the language barrier. What did you dream of being when you were that age?
I just want it to be successful and I want it to be a business person. I knew I was going to be in accounting, not as a little girl, but in high school. My high school had accounting courses. The minute I took the first one, I knew that's the career path I was going to going to take.
Why is that?
I've always been a numbers person. When my mom told stories of me being a child, they would bring fruits from the villages. It was me who sorted everything. I say, “We're going to eat this. This is a week later. This is two weeks later.” I've always liked organizing, sorting and counting. It's been in my DNA and she knew. She wasn't surprised. She was like, “You've always been the number person in the family.” I knew early on.
You already knew going into college that was what you were going to be. Are there any other accountants in your family?
No.
What was your path then in accounting?
I went to Hollywood High School. It's part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. It was a pretty big high school. I graduated there. I went on to USC and I went in with Accounting and got out with Business Administration and Finance. You know how you go through the university and you change your major three times. I made the change and then I had to stick around for another semester and I didn't want to do it, but I said, “Let me get out. I can take whatever class I need and take the CPA exam.” That's exactly what I did.
What was your first job in accounting?
When I got out of college, the job market was so bad. I was competing with people who got out the year before and the year before. The only job, ironically, I could find was being a tax collector for sales tax for the California Board of Equalization. I fell into sales. I remember getting the interview and I'm like, “What is sales tax again?” I researched what sales tax was, but nevertheless, I got the job and I did well as a collector. I hated it. I was literally in the field pulling permits and shutting down businesses.
I was 21-year-old. I took my job a little too seriously. I'm like, “I don't like collecting. Maybe assessing would be easier.” I went over and did audits for California. I'm like, “I'm too ambitious. I want to make money. I want to Excel.” The state is not going to give me that. Sure enough, I passed my CPA exam at that point and I moved on to Deloitte. I did consult for them. I much rather help companies than collect or assess. It was a much more rewarding job for me.
How did you end up getting into Deloitte?
Through interview. I knew the state was not long-term for me and I interviewed with their self-practice. I got the job and went in. I did reverse audits, audit representations, BDAs and nexus studies. Deloitte, at the time, was only starting their tax automation practice, which I was like, “I could do that. Travel sounds appealing. I want to do that. Where do I sign up?” Sure enough, they were 400 or 500-person practice now. I was on ground zero at the time and we started the practice. I had a good run at Deloitte and left there right after I got married and met my husband.
It would be such a way to be a consultant when you've been the person putting permitting on businesses. In your real life, you are shutting down businesses and trying to help people. This happens.
It does happen.
I’ve heard horrible stories. I'm sure you saw business owners being upset and all of that stuff, what an experience to take into a consulting realm. When you got married, then where did you go?
Work Hard: Assess your life and figure out if you made the best decision with your profession. Be comfortable with that decision.
I left Deloitte because I was looking for a work-life balance. I had a good career at Deloitte and I was excelling and going up the ranks. I would not be surprised if a partnership was for me there, but when I looked at my role models, I said, “I really want work-life balance. I want children.” I met my husband. I said, “I need something that's going to give me that and get me off the street.”
By the way, that never happened. I still travel in my current role. I’ve managed to learn how to do both, but I left and went to a company that's now known as Sovos and was at the time known as Taxware. I was their director of learning and development. I was helping them develop their training programs. I did a lot of different things and that's where I got introduced to partner management.
Before talking about this part, I think it's an important point. I've worked with a lot of accounting firms on this issue right now of people leaving. We always have people leaving in the profession, but it's been a huge exodus after what we've been through in the last few years. A lot of times, the answer is always, “This is just the profession. This is the way that it is.” Rather than how can we change this, it doesn’t need to be this way. It's how we work or do our staffing mix and so forth.
If you talk to the staff, many don't want to go into leadership for the same thing you said. It’s, “I look at how they work and it doesn't look appealing. I don't want to even be worse than what I am now.” Now that you are a leader and have made these shifts in your life, how have you been able to manage that? What advice would you give to other leaders about this as well?
I would say that the profession has changed and it has evolved over time. When I joined Deloitte, people said I was lucky because women can now wear pantsuits. I felt fortunate that I could do that, but it's even evolved more now. When I was in public accounting and I was working with consulting and traveling, they have 3, 4 or 5. You're out of town 3 nights and 4 days and on the 5th day, you're in the office.
Look at us now. We've embraced a remote workplace. We are creating a better environment. The new generation is also pushing us in that direction and I think that we don't need to work the 80 hours I used to work or people like me at work. We can be productive with a work-life balance. I think that profession has embraced that. Women or men, for that matter, don't need to work 80 hours to be successful. I think we've gone through quite a bit of a transformation and it's such a happier place now compared to what it was.
How have you been able to put boundaries around your career? Your career is demanding the things you do as well to make sure that you can do the reason you left Deloitte in the first place.
The number one thing is I'm at peace with the guilt factor. I remember for years, I would travel with two children at home below the age of four and my husband was amazing because he was mom and dad when I was away and the guilt was horrible. “Am I a good mother? Am I abandoning my children?” I would go to the airport and cry. I loved the professional aspect but felt like I was giving up something big on the other side.
Through the years, it's not that I've come to peace with it. I think it was the best decision. I think my children now are better individuals because I was traveling and I've been a career mom. They've learned to be more independent, more respective. They understand that they have a better life because I've chosen this path. I feel that being comfortable with that and seeing that it was a better decision was my number one accomplishment.
It’s funny that so many memories come up when you say that. This is a lot that maybe men don't understand about women working in the workplace and don't know what's going on in their bodies and minds and so forth of that guilt because it's also pressure amongst women judging women on the life that they have. That's a whole cultural or environmental thing that they aren't a part of and they don't even see it happening, but we feel it and sense it.
We're always struggling, “Are we doing the right things? Are we doing good enough? Are they going to be upset later and so forth?” I remember I was going through a breaking point like that of maybe I'm doing the wrong thing or whatever. I was like, “Maybe I'll quit everything. I'll just stay home.” I said something to the kids that I was considering it. They're like, “What about the house? What would happen to the house?” They start listing all the things of the things that they liked.
It's funny because you're only thinking from your perspective, but the kids are more about like, “What's in it for them?” It’s not just that, but the other things, as you said independence. I would see certain things that stay-at-home moms did that I didn't have time to do, but they could see what they appreciated from their life. I wasn't worried about my son going to college. He knew how to take care of himself. He was good at making his own breakfast and doing his laundry.
Also, packing their own lunch. It's the little things and you see the difference when you are around children that have stay-at-home moms. I'm not generalizing. In hindsight, we all make decisions and we're happy. I'm sure stay-at-home moms have their reasons for making their decision, but the guilt that was with me for years was number one. I think of the things that I've overcome.
You learn to balance it too. I don't need to be part of the PTA. I don't need to be the classroom mom, but I do need to go in for things that my children remember. I was there for holiday parties. I was there for Thanksgiving parades. Those things, I will always make time for. I was at a conference and the keynote said, “Whether your mom or your dad, you never miss those special days and you never brag about missing them.”
That was such a powerful message. As dads or men in the workplace, my son had a birthday and I was there. It's okay. I've seen a lot of that in the profession over the years, but what she said resonated with me, “You never miss it and you never brag about missing.” You balance it. It's okay to say, “I'm not going to be able to make that trip because it's my son's birthday,” or there's a big music performance or whatever it is. I've learned to be more vocal about that and I think the profession has become more accepting of those.
Asking your kids what's important to them. There are things from a visual or from a parent perspective in the ecosystem that we're like, “If we don't show up to that, people are going to judge me,” or whatever. Both of my sons have run cross country, but when they're seniors, the senior parents are the ones that do the pasta dinners before the races on Saturdays. My older son wanted us to do it. We did it, but I got an email because now my younger son is a senior and I was like, “I should probably do this because that's the senior parents.”
I sent a message to him, luckily, before I volunteered. I was like, “Do you want me to do this?” He's like, “Please, no.” I'm like, “Okay,” but that would have been something I would've assumed that he might feel bad if we didn't have it. Those are the things where communication with your kids is so important. We'll feel bad about things that they're like, “I don't know.”
We need to remind ourselves of that oftentimes because we forget that.
What else have you done to keep some boundaries in the workplace?
I've gotten involved in my kids' schools. My boys are into music and they're part of a performing band. I got on the middle school booster as the treasurer. It was a bigger commitment than I was ready for, but I've enjoyed it. I've created and my work is very accepting of it if I need to do a board meeting. Getting involved in stuff like that makes me feel better about being part of my kids' life. Ironically, they had no issues with me doing that or they didn't, but my high schooler would probably say something different, though.
Getting involved in the community and associations, never missing those special milestones, even if it means I need to put off a partner meeting or go to a conference later. It's also very important to have a good partner. My husband has been a blessing. He's always been very supportive of my career. He has been there for our children and played a dual role when he needed to. That has helped me be successful in life as well.
That communication is important when you need help and be okay to ask for help. Also, to not feel guilty to ask for help, that you are partners in this and that they are a parent too. It's not them babysitting. It’s wanting to do that role and not getting in the way of that for them too. If you need to make a meeting, be somewhere for the kids, or cut something off for family dinner, what is your way of communicating that at work? A lot of people, when this topic comes up, especially in this profession and if they're not a leader, they might feel that they don't have the right to ask or to tell someone that they can't do something. How have you been able to navigate that?
Work Hard: Make time for the most important things. Whether you’re mom or your dad, you never miss those special days and you never brag about missing them. Balance it.
First of all, in every job I've had, I've treated it like my own company. What would I do if Avalara was my company and I had this meeting? There had been very seldom situations where I missed a personal thing that I felt was the right decision for me at the time. I will say that the companies I've worked for have been very supportive and I've been fortunate enough to have good bosses with whom I'll have a discussion with my boss and say, “I've got this conflict,” and talk it through. If I don't want to miss it, do we move things around? Does he go in or someone else’s?
In life, I've learned that everybody's replaceable. I may be the right or ideal person for that meeting, but there might be others who can do a good job as well. We talk through it and I've learned not to be too hard on myself and to give my family the priority that they deserve. It’s because earlier in my career, I didn't do that. I felt like, “I need to do this for my work,” and I've missed events that I wish I hadn't, but through my career, I've learned to balance it better. Experience makes better. I felt like I needed that gift of time to make the decisions that I would be proud of many years later.
Is there any time you can feel your father and your mother's advice coming through you as a parent or in business that you know it comes from them?
All the time. The sense of family values and you work hard if you want to get something somewhere in life. Those are values that I could hear in my dad's voice and my mom saying, “You need to work. You need to focus on your profession. You need to be independent.” Those are all things that were embedded in me from a young age.
Do you give that advice to the people that you work with?
I do.
How does it come back out through you?
I always tell my kids and even at work, it’s like, “Whatever we do, we have to be proud of the output. We worked hard.” I tell my kids the sky's the limit. If you want something, nothing is unachievable. You only need to be smart about it and work hard. If you work hard, you will be rewarded.
As far as the impact that you're making now in your role, what is it that you feel you're living those values of being proud of the work that you're doing and feeling purposeful about it? Also, the sacrifices that you do personally are worth it.
I joined Avalara two years ago, but the ironic fun fact is that I've been around Avalara for much longer. I was a partner at Avalara and decided later to join team orange because I loved their vision and what they were doing in the profession. I'm so proud of being part of the team and leading the division of Avalara's involvement with the accounting community and the profession.
Also, how our strategies to support them from a technology were investing and enabling accountants to grow in areas that they didn’t expect to in order to add efficiency to their practices. I'm proud of the team and it's not me doing this. We have a team. I'm proud to lead the vision and be part of this excellent team that's delivering on a strategy that's going to make a difference.
I love to end our interviews with some rapid-fire questions. You pick a category. It’s either family and friends, money, spiritual or health.
I'm going to stick to my common theme of family.
Things or actions I don't have that I want.
I wish I had my dad. That's the number one thing that comes to my mind.
Things or actions that I do have that I want to keep.
My family, my kids, the bond, the connection and my extended family too.
Things or actions I don't have that I don't want with my family.
The hardship of growing up has driven me to be successful.
That always creates that fear of making sure you're never in that position again.
It keeps you going.
Things or actions that I do have that I don't want.
Work Hard: Recognize the gift of time. Make decisions that you would be proud of years later.
The work pressure and always making the decision and having to balance things, it’s miserable at times.
That is why it's so important. We're aware and alert of what everybody's going through. This has been so awesome with you sharing your story. Is there anything that we haven't talked about or do you want to make sure that people walk away from this conversation remembering?
We all have challenges, and it's important to bring the human factor into our profession. We think about promotions, specific tasks, and deadlines, but we shouldn't forget the human factor. We never know what people are going through and the challenges they have. Be open-minded and accepting of things around you.
Thank you so much, Sona, for being a part of this and there are many life lessons that I'm sure everyone will be able to take away from your story.
Thanks a lot, Amy. This was great and I appreciate the opportunity.
---
Now, for Mindful Moments with this interview with Sona from Avalara. Stepping back from this interview and thinking about some of the life lessons that she learned as an immigrant, her parents being immigrants to this country, and her entrepreneurial spirit of not knowing what is ahead. That is what I think about when I think about immigrants is I can’t even imagine leaving everything you know and taking a few things with you that are most important.
Also, coming to a country that you don’t have a place to go or a job. You have no idea what’s in your future, but you are doing that to help future generations. It is such a purpose-driven thing to do and so much family at the heart of it. Sona and I talked about both of our families being immigrants from Russia. Comparing those stories and how they affected the decisions we make in our lives because of the sacrifices that a few generations ago made to improve our lives.
Sona talks about financially struggling as a child being an immigrant here and not knowing the language, how that affected her in school, about being shy and so forth. The lessons that her parents instilled in her of hard work and making sure that family is first. A lot of times, we step away from that, especially in times that we’re burned out and getting back to those big lessons that we have in our life of what is important.
At the heart of it is when we talk about working hard with a purpose and understanding why we’re working hard and not just working to work. Some burnout can be caused because that’s how we’re comfortable. We work to work instead of grounding ourselves in purpose and why we’re doing what we are doing. If that purpose around making our family and children’s lives better, making sure we’re balancing that with being there and being present for our family as well.
I think that’s the conundrum we’re always faced with as we strive for a better career and financial life, especially if you struggled as a younger child like Sona did. That fear of getting back to that place of being in financial struggle or losing everything keeps you motivated that it never happens again, but we have that opposite goal of family first. Also, making sure that they have those family dinners every night. They are turning off the TV and putting away their phones. There are some boundaries around work and our personal life.
Sona talked about how important it was for her to create a successful career after seeing the struggles of her family. Her first job as a sales tax collector, when we think about some of our first jobs, it does help inform us as leaders of what our vision is and how we’re trying to help. I know a lot of times when I’ve pivoted in my career or changed jobs, I knew that I had to roll my sleeves up, get my hands dirty and work in the business to understand what needs to be fixed and changed. How am I trying to improve people’s lives?
From that job to moving into consulting, where she was doing self-reviews at Deloitte, she was able to take that experience and flip it to help small and medium-sized businesses with tax automation but also making sure that nobody gets in trouble that way. That life experience drives purpose and it’s important when we shift in our careers. She has had a number of pivots in her life but staying within sales tax to what she does now with helping accounting firms to automate in this way and create businesses so that this can be something you are having to think and worry about. Also, you have peace of mind for your clients.
It’s important that we’re always driving back to that purpose, where we came from, why we’re doing what we’re doing and making sure that everybody understands that. We also talked about how much the profession has changed with this remote workplace and making sure that we’re good with our work-life balance, whether remote or in the office. She talked about, as a woman, making sure that she was at peace with that “guilt factor.” So many people struggle with that, whether you’re a mother or father of missing something of your kids and making sure that those are the things that you set boundaries around.
The most important thing for you to be involved with is that you’ve actually spent time talking to your kids and understanding what’s important to them and what’s non-negotiable to not miss but also what can be missed, so you’re not feeling guilty if you have to miss something. Also, thinking about how to balance our work, children, personal lives, friends and family and talking to the people around us, our support system and the people that rely on us, like our kids, if we have kids, to make sure that we are balancing it right.
It shouldn’t be something we worry about bringing that up or having that conversation because it helps our relationships to come to an understanding of what’s important of what can’t be missed. She talked about working hard with her lesson of thinking about her jobs as if she owned the company. Also, making sure that if she is doing something that she had to pay for personally, would it make sense? Would it be the right ROI, also ensuring that she is thinking like an owner as a leader? I think that’s important after seeing her father and her father running his own business, working hard but also making sure that he was working on the right things with the budget he had to run his business.
At the end of the day, it was important as we came to the conclusion of this is to make sure that we understand that nothing is unachievable. When we think about the immigrants and the people that brought us to this country and the risk they took to get here, that is so much more insurmountable than some of the things we face every day. We can achieve things when we step back and think about it step-by-step. As we go through those steps, be proud of the things that you do along the way.
I want to thank Avalara for sponsoring this episode with Sona. It was so great to speak to her. Again, if you would like to learn more about Avalara or how you can get involved with their automation tools, you can go to Avalara.com/accountants and learn more about their partner program. If you like this episode, make sure to like it, leave comments and also subscribe. Refer this to your friends, family or anyone that you think that messages on here will be helpful to them in their lives.
Important Links
Abou Sona Akmakjian
Sona is Avalara’s executive leading global accountant partnerships and programs. A California CPA with 30 years of transactional tax services in both advisory and automation, Sona is recognized for her deep industry expertise and her passion for the industry. Her vision is to offer innovative solutions that enable firms to support clients with end-to-end scalable, global solutions. She advocates global, strategic, mutually beneficial relationships with all accounting firms.
Sona has experience in multiple tax segments including Big Four, state agency administering sales and use taxes, tax software company and midsized-firm consulting.