$1.17M Later: What 4.5 Years of Running My Firm Actually Looks Like
An honest look at what it really takes to run a small accounting firm.
You’ve probably seen more accounting firm owners sharing their revenue numbers online lately.
I love it.
Not because I think it’s something to brag about, but because we need more truth in this profession. More context.
More clarity around what building a business really looks like when you’re a solo or small firm owner juggling client work, real life, and the kind of dreams a regular 9–5 would never have made possible.
My business officially started back in 2013. But I’m only sharing data from 2021 through today because that’s when I finally started tracking more than just the revenue figures.
It’s also when I was fully on my own. Up until March 2020, I still worked a day job. 2021 was the first full year I ran this firm as my sole source of income.
Since January 2021, I’ve made $1,171,941.34 running my firm.
But what I’ve earned is only part of the story.
Because what I built is something far more valuable.
Total Revenue (Jan 2021 – Apr 16, 2025):
$1,171,941.34
And so you can see I’m not bullshitting you … here’s my P&L:
2021: Growth, ‘Expert’ Work and Getting on My Own Feet
💰 Revenue: $208,607.87
👥 Accounting Clients (recurring revenue): 12 (dropped 4 during the year)
📄 Tax Returns: 68 returns prepared for 52 clients (most of these were simple personal returns or Schedule C business returns)
🚨 COVID Relief Consulting: PPP, ERC, and more
✍🏼 New Client Tax Prep Fees: 27* (see explanation below)
2021 was about stepping into a new chapter.
My first full year self-employed. My first full year without a safety net.
I was doing a little of everything - COVID relief consulting, QuickBooks cleanups, tax prep, bookkeeping, expert consulting on a legal case.
The expert work was good money but incredibly draining. It required travel, late nights, and strict deadlines that often collided with tax season. And the case itself spanned three years.
Although, thanks to that case, I can officially say I’m now a QuickBooks Online and Bookkeeping expert witness in court. So… that’s a fun party fact.
In May 2021, I was presented with the Woman of Influence in Small Business award by WE (Women Empowered)Lead, recognizing my efforts and the resources I shared to help small businesses access pandemic relief.
Because I wasn’t buried in tax work like most other preparers that year, I was able to devote time to learning the ever-changing rules behind the alphabet soup of programs - PPP, ERC, EIDL, RRF. I made it my job to understand them. And to make them understandable for others.
But while I was helping others navigate the complexities of their business, I was quietly trying to figure out how to navigate mine.
I was slowly learning how to not just be an accountant anymore. I was learning how to be a business owner, and that was an entirely different skill set. I’d never been taught how to run a business, market services, or set boundaries around my time.
Doing it all myself was overwhelming. The to-do list never ended.
Every win felt like a question mark: Am I doing this right?
So I joined a business women’s networking and social group. That decision ended up being a turning point. It helped me gain new clients, yes, but more importantly, it helped me start to see myself as a real business owner.
I was no longer just “doing taxes” or “cleaning up QuickBooks.”
I was building something.
*I charge a new client tax fee for each new tax return in the first year I prepare them. So if one individual client has both an S Corp business and a personal tax return, they’ll pay two separate new client fees - one for their personal returns and one for the business return. That’s why this number seems high compared to the number of “clients” I have.
2022: Two Homes, Too Much Hustle, and a Heavy Season
💰 Revenue: $259,734.85
👥 Accounting Clients: 15 (dropped 5 during the year)
📄 Tax Returns: 68 returns for 52 clients (same number of returns as in 2021, but look at the number of NEW clients this year)
✍🏼 New Client Tax Prep Fees: 22
💼 Court Case and Expert Work: Still going
🏠 Personal Life: Maintaining two homes to be with my daughter, Felicity, while she finished high school
This year was… hard.
I moved two hours away so Felicity could finish high school, but still had to carry my other home’s mortgage.
Two homes. Two sets of bills. And a house I should never have rented.
Felicity wanted to bring her birds with her, which meant we couldn’t rent an apartment. I told myself it was fine. I told myself we’d make it work.
But the house was old and everything was always breaking. We went a whole week without hot water when the hot water heater broke. I paid for a gym membership the entire time we lived there and the only time we went to the gym was when the hot water heater was broken.
Living at that house, I was overwhelmed, overweight, and depressed. I was also behind on everything.
I didn’t feel like myself. And I definitely didn’t feel like the confident business owner I had hoped I would be.
I held it together for my clients, but at the same time, I wasn't - not really.
It wasn’t long before everything came crashing down.
2023: Burnout, Boundaries, and the Bright Spots That Saved Me
💰 Revenue: $350,634.10 (Highest year yet)
👥 Accounting Clients: 10
📄 Tax Returns: 87 returns for 71 clients
💼 Court Case: Ended in April
✍🏼 New Client Tax Prep Fees: 28
💔 Lost a CFO client due to capacity issues in April
👩👧 The year I worked with Felicity every day
By the numbers, this was my best year yet.
Highest revenue, most returns, solid consulting work. And on the surface, it looked like everything was working.
But I was totally burnt out.
I had to drop clients just to keep my head above water. I lost a CFO client in April - one I truly cared about - because I couldn’t keep up with the workload. The court case finally wrapped up in April, but it took me months to catch up from the toll it had taken.
I had no buffer, no extra bandwidth, and no real systems in place to support the growth.
But here’s the complicated part about 2023: it was also one of the most meaningful years of my life.
Because during that same season, I got to work with Felicity every day (until she left for college in August).
She was my admin assistant, my accountability partner, and honestly, the reason everything didn’t completely fall apart. Yes, things slipped through the cracks. Of course they did. But without her, it would have been so much worse. She helped keep the chaos from tipping all the way over.
And more than that - we spent quality time together. Something I’d lost hope would ever be possible after a 10-year custody battle with her father.
If you’re interested in reading more about my personal journey of how I became an accountant and how this custody battle affected the choices I made and led me to where I am today, you can check out that article here.
We visited colleges. We talked about her future. We had dinner together most nights.
For the first time in years, I got to just be with my daughter - not as a weekend parent or a FaceTime check-in, but fully there.
That was always the reason I built this business. Not for the revenue, not for the independence, but to be present for the person who matters most to me.
So even though 2023 broke me in a few ways, I’ll always be grateful for what it gave me.
2024: Raising My Rates, Drawing the Line, and Coming Back to Myself
💰 Revenue: $251,361.82
👥 Accounting Clients: 12 (dropped 3) - the significant decline in revenue is from 1 of the “dropped” clients selling their business in October, this was also a HUGE $$$ client that I still haven’t replaced
📄 Tax Returns: 65 returns for 54 clients
✍🏼 New Client Tax Prep Fees: 27
📈 Doubled the price of business returns
🛑 Ended tax-only client relationships
At the end of 2023, I sent a message to all of our tax clients that if they weren’t engaging with us for services beyond tax prep - like bookkeeping, consulting, or tax planning - we wouldn’t continue working together in 2025.
It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my business.
And it changed everything.
Even though I filed about 1/3 less returns than in 2023, I made nearly $40,000 more because I finally charged (closer to) what I should’ve been charging all along.
Business returns doubled in price from the year before. And they’ll go up again next year, because they’re still not where they need to be.
But this wasn’t just about pricing. It was about peace. About drawing a line in the sand and deciding that I didn’t need to serve everyone.
Speaking of serving everyone … After Felicity left for college, I had space to really think about what kind of life I wanted for myself. I realized the life I was living wasn’t it - it wasn’t serving me.
So I made a big personal change: I moved to South Carolina in August.
I still have the house in Maryland, and I still travel back there at least once a month. Sometimes it’s to see clients and sometimes it’s because I was trying to work on things with my partner.
But every visit has been a reminder: as much as we care for each other, we aren't on the same path anymore. We thought we wanted the same life. And in some ways, we do. But in the ways that mattered most - we don't.
Trying to rebuild a relationship while rebuilding a business? It just doesn’t work unless you have someone who’s all in, fully supportive, and walking alongside you. I’ve learned that the hard way.
You either need to be alone or have the kind of partner who holds your vision with you. There is no in-between.
2025 (So Far): Strategy, Stability, and What Comes Next
💰 Revenue through April 16: $101,602.70
📈 Projected Revenue for 2025: ~$250,000 (and potentially more)
👥 Accounting Clients: 10 (1 leaving in June after selling their business)
📄 Tax Returns So Far: 60 completed, 17 on extension (≈$25K more to come)
✍🏼 New Client Tax Prep Fees: Only 13!
🛠 Big projects + a new financial course in the works
This year feels different.
Not because everything is perfect, but because everything finally has purpose.
I’m building offers I’m excited about. I’m leaning into the work I actually want to do - QuickBooks cleanups, high-level CFO strategy, and long-term support for clients who trust my insight, not just my ability to check a box.
I’ve already got a few major projects booked, and I’m creating a brand new financial course for small business owners, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years. (More on that soon.)
My projected revenue is around $250K, and for the first time, that number doesn’t scare me. It doesn’t feel like something I have to hustle or sacrifice myself to reach.
It feels earned. Steady. Possible.
And maybe more importantly, it feels like just the beginning.
I’m no longer trying to prove I can do it all.
I’ve done the hard years. I’ve made the mistakes. I’ve pushed past burnout.
Now I get to build something that supports the life I want, with the clients and community I love.
This season isn’t about survival.
It’s about alignment.
What I’d Tell Past Me
Get the apartment. Tell Felicity to leave the birds with her dad.
You don’t need a yard. You don’t need to live in an old house that’s constantly breaking while juggling client calls and tax returns.
When Felicity graduates, go straight to South Carolina. Don’t try to make it work with someone who never truly showed up for the version of life you were building.
And raise your rates sooner.
Say no sooner.
You weren’t supposed to build a business that burned you out. You were supposed to build a business that let you show your daughter what was possible.
And you did.
You still are.
To Every Accountant, Bookkeeper, and Solo Firm Owner Reading This
If you’re in a season of mess - of burnout, rebuilding, or wondering whether this is still worth it - I hope you see yourself in this story.
Not just in the numbers.
But in the why.
This business has given me the freedom to provide for my daughter in ways working for someone else never could. To be there when she needed me. To cheer her on as she searched for colleges, studied for exams, and made plans for her own future.
It gave me time with her that I’ll never regret.
And if you're building something that feels slow, hard, or inconsistent... I promise you, that doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It might just mean you’re building something real.
Until next time,
P.S. Tax Season Update: The Plan Worked (Mostly)
Back in February, I wrote a post called How I (Mostly) Mastered Tax Season about how I restructured my entire tax prep workflow using a scheduling system.
Guess what? It worked better than I planned.
I was able to manage my workload without pulling constant all-nighters, panicked extensions, or completely disappearing from my life.
Was it perfect? No.
But it was the calmest, most manageable tax season I’ve had in years and I’m not going back to the old way.
If you missed that post and want to know how I structured the scheduling system (and how I’ll be doing it again next year), you can read it here.
I’ve been told by some that it’s required reading for their firm now that tax season has ended. 😆 And with over 600 views, maybe I’m on to something…
Wow, this is so cool and so inspiring! I'm rooting for you. And I wonder, as it's only you in the company, do you work a million hours a week or is it normal hours (whatever that means).
As a woman in a different business I have been through my own journey with ups and downs and you are spot on, the relationships in your life and alignment are the key factors. I love how you were so vulnerable in your details and such an inspiration to other woman!