Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony Lake.
Ebony, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I always had a passion for numbers as a kid. I would count the mile markers on the highway while riding with my mother. She would ask, “What are you counting?” and I would say the sticks on the side of the road. The fascination for numbers carried on into my teens and eventually shaped my career path. I started doing taxes as a part-time job during college while pursuing to be a doctor. The first tax season was an eye-opener and I was intrigued with the challenges of calculations, deductions, tax brackets and how tax laws affected people’s daily lives. That became another world for me to explore.
For the next few years, I started studying and gaining more knowledge about taxes, which lead to changing my career path to focus more on finance. At that time, the office I worked in was in a low-income community and some of the people had limited knowledge or understanding as to how taxes affected their paychecks and refunds. Most worked all year and didn’t notice that no federal withholdings were taken out of their paycheck until it was time to file their taxes, which lowered their refund. This issue started when the individuals were hired at a job and didn’t understand how to fill out forms for federal and state withholdings, creating an opportunity for myself to educate the people. It was a warming feeling to breakdown the complicated tax language in simpler terms and one understood.
Soon after, my clientele slowly started growing but I wanted more than just the local people in the community. My vision was bigger than that. Soon after, I met some individuals who were in the military that needed their taxes prepared and that opened a market to meet people from all over the country once the word of mouth begun. However, the same type of questions always came up “What can I deduct on my taxes?” and I would simply say what was deductible and what was not. By this time, I was working from home because most of my clientele was out of state, so face to face interaction was limited.
From then on, my goal and focus were more on making sure people understood how taxes affected them and ways to minimize their tax liability as opposed to getting the highest refund. The appreciation started to overflow, igniting my drive to inform the community of financial literacy. Fast forward to last year. I started realizing the importance of social media and how it could scale my business. I pursued a bigger dream and tackled an even bigger goal of opening my own office in the heart of Saint Louis, leading to more personal interactions with clients. This allowed my business to tap into more marketing avenues as such: panel discussions, presentations, webinars and publications. Ultimately, I’m more than just a tax professional, I’m a guider and I lead my clients to become more financial educated and stable.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road but I appreciate the challenges that were brought into the forefront, which it allows me to be able to tackle those unknown adversities. Most of the struggles consist of ever-changing regulatory and legislative risks. Being able to critically think and shift gears while keeping my client’s best interest.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lake Consulting Firm – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in tax preparation and business consulting services. We are known for educating people on their own taxes and making sure they understand what the forms mean as opposed to telling them what they are getting as a refund. Sometimes most may want to fast forward to the refund part but understanding why they received that amount is more important.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I dislike the fear of people not asking questions and going on as if they know what various tax laws mean, more importantly, how they personally affect them. I like that the city is diverse in people and every financial situation is different.
Contact Info:
- Address: 924 N McKnight Rd Suite 6
- Website: www.lakeconsultingfirm.biz
- Phone: 314-324-8282
- Email: lakeconsultingfirm@gmail.com
- Instagram: @lakeconsultingfirm
- Facebook: Lake Consulting Firm
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