Today we’d like to introduce you to Angelica Blackmon.
Hi Angelica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m born and raised here in Houston. I finished undergrad at Prairie View A&M University with a bachelor’s in Social Work. After a few internships, I quickly realized the social work field was not for me – Overworked and underpaid.
Throughout my time in college, I worked retail to accommodate my hectic class schedule. After trying to figure out what was next for me, I decided to stay in retail but used my degree as leverage to move into a management position. While I learned a lot while working retail, I really wanted to be able to increase my income and took the opportunity to learn a new skill. After leaving retail, I went on to corporate America working in the Tax realm. I worked for several organizations over the course of about six years before leaving the corporate world to pursue my entrepreneurial journey. When I left my last job as a Tax Consultant, I can’t lie, I was terrified! I had always had steady employment and the thought of the “unknown” freaked me out.
In hindsight, I can see how God was really setting me up for what was to come, but in the moment, it felt like a failure. Soon after, I was presented with the opportunity to use my skills and knowledge to make money working for myself. With not many other options and after discussing it with friends and family, I decided to give it a try and the rest is history. It’s been two years since I decided to bet on myself. I’ve used all the knowledge I gained from my corporate career as a Tax Consultant and Project Manager to establish my own tax company – Tax-ish Professional Services (“TPS, Inc.”). Here I am today with a growing business and team of amazing women who all see and trust my vision.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has certainly not been a smooth road. It has, and still is at times, been one big learning curve. I can remember my first year in business in 2019 when it was just me, my laptop and my two partners in crime (My best friend and current Training Manager, Zakiya Jacquet and my aunt and current Lead Tax Preparer, Pamela Jackson). I was really struggling with learning the ins and outs of the business while training them at the same time. We were all really learning together, but I was determined to make things work because the company was all I had to fall back on at the time. I worked day and night taking virtual clients and using my apartment leasing office as my headquarters. I took some major losses that first year because I was so green to the industry and to how dishonest people can be.
Being in the tax industry, you have your constants – the things that are routine or the same from year to year. Then you have all the ever-changing rules, regulations, tax laws and processes. These are the things that are always changing or moving. Keeping up with all these things and wanting to be an expert at everything almost had me burned out! I had to really sit down and figure out how I could not only keep my sanity, but keep elevating the business. Eventually, I got it and I found the balance I needed to be the President/CEO, hiring manager, trainer, payroll personnel, secretary and everything in between. Once I learned to plan ahead and delegate or outsource the small things, things begin to take off. I moved into my own office space before going into my 2nd year and #TeamTaxish has continued to grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about TPS, Inc.?
The official business name is Tax-ish Professional Services. I came up with this name because I always knew I wanted to do taxes and multiple other things. Plus, the “ish’ was trendy at the time. Kind of makes me cringe a little now! (lol) I recently made the decision to go by TPS, Inc. instead. I think it’s easier to say for one and it’s more palatable to different audiences in terms of marketing and growing clientele. We have already updated our logo and have been getting a great response from clients thus far.
What do we do? We do it all! Over the years, I’ve continued to add to our services list because I want to stand out and my vision was to always turn this into a full financial house where you can come and get any and everything in regards to finances. We currently offer the following services:
- Tax Preparation (Individual & Business);
- Tax Planning/Consulting;
- Bookkeeping for Small Businesses;
- Life, Mortgage, Auto and Senior Health Insurance;
- Notary Services;
- Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) for debt reduction; and
- IRA/Roth & Investments.
Now that our team has pretty much doubled, we have more professionals to assist clients and some are experts in their respected areas. While we do offer all of these services, the bread & butter and heart of the company is tax preparation. More specifically, we specialize in maximizing refunds and minimizing tax liability for small business owners and high earners who are not in the position to receive a tax refund. I enjoy getting new clients and educating them on all the ways they can be saving more money or seeing them excited because they haven’t been able to even get a refund in previous years because their tax preparer just didn’t explore or lay out all of their options. In my community, Third Ward, there are a number of tax businesses, but no one is really educating on how or what can be done year round to put people in a better position. Taxes are just an extension of overall financial health. This is a huge part of why I decided to become a licensed lie agent as well. My community is not very knowledgeable about ways to protect their family or build generational wealth. It is my hope that I can make a positive impact in that regard.
The tax preparation industry is very saturated, but what I think sets us apart is that passion to educate our clients and not just take their money. I pride myself on having integrity and being trustworthy. My clients know that I am there to answer their questions, explain or breakdown anything they don’t fully understand and genuinely want to see them get what they are owed. Something else that sets us apart is understanding that taxes are a year-round endeavor. This is why we are open all year. We are NOT just seasonal. We assist with quarterly filings, audits, amendments and back-filings. Aside from all the aforementioned attributes, I am most proud of myself for not quitting and expanding my business in the way that I have. I always knew I was capable of doing more and the potential to be successful, so I stuck with it and now I’m stepping into what is projected to be our biggest tax season yet! I’m so excited! WE have an amazing team of intelligent, professional and beautiful women who I believe will help take TPS to the next level.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned since starting this is to trust myself. Trusting my ambition, my intuition and my natural ability to lead has taken me this far. Another important lesson is that I cannot do everything on my own. No great business venture was done with just one single employee. Yes, there are plenty of businesses that operate with just the owner/operator, but in order to continuously scale my business, I’ve learned it truly takes a village. Not only does this prevent burnout, but also allows me time to focus on areas that need improving.
Pricing:
- We are very reasonably priced with a base tax return price of $300.
Contact Info:
- Email: TaxishProfessionalServices@gmail.com
- Website: TaxishPS.net
- Instagram: @TaxishPS
- Facebook: @TaxishProfessionalServices
Image Credits:
Darius Goff (Shot by Drizzy) LuLu Parish (Curated by Lucy)
