Getting Ready For Tax Time

T/E General Accounting & Tax Services, LLC

By Dawn Cauthen Thornton Photos by JLG Photography

During the first quarter of the year millions of people sift through their mail to find W2 statements and other documents needed to settle the year’s income with the state and federal governments. Some welcome it if they’re expecting a refund and others dread it if they’re expecting to owe.

In 2004, Mary Ann Adams utilized the tax preparation services of a popular tax company and was surprised when she was audited later that year due to a mistake in the calculations. She likely trusted the service because of the well-known name but realized they make mistakes too.

“I asked the auditor how I could become a tax preparer so this wouldn’t happen again. And he pointed to the books on the shelf and said I needed to read all of those,” Adams laughs. She quickly enrolled in a course to become a certified tax preparer and had a secondary career the next year with the company who had prepared her taxes that triggered the audit.

In 2013, Adams decided she wanted to go through the grueling process of becoming an Enrolled Agent, which allows you to represent clients in front of the IRS should more serious matters occur. She took a challenging course, studied for months, and submitted to a rigorous three-month background check. In 2014 she passed the exam and accomplished her goal of becoming a licensed Enrolled Agent. That same year, she decided it was time to step out and begin the process to open her own business. Months later, in 2015, Adams opened T/E Accounting & Tax Services in Greensboro. It offers a variety of services to small businesses and individual clients including bookkeeping, payroll, IRS representation, and of course tax preparation.

She purchased a franchise and renamed it Toro Taxes, Inc. in 2017, that caters to the Hispanic community with Spanish speaking preparers. Her next goal is to add an additional benefit to her Enrolled Agent certification – to be able to represent her clients in court during a tax discrepancy case. She would essentially act as her client’s lawyer. Unfortunately, the test has been postponed due to the Coronavirus.

With the pandemic causing mass unemployment and stimulus checks issued to families, Adams wants to make the community aware that filing taxes will look a little different this upcoming season. “Those who have children under the age of 17 most likely received quite a bit of money and it will definitely affect their filing next year. I don’t think a lot of people realize how it will impact them,” says Adams.

She is gearing up now for what she knows will be a busy season ahead. In fact, because Adams services businesses also, tax season is the entire year. It’s not simply January thru April as most people think. “Tax season goes beyond the April 15th deadline. There are monthly sales and use taxes that have to be filed, some payroll taxes are monthly. There are certain deadlines for corporations on March 15th and April 15th. Then on May 15th nonprofits have a deadline. September and October there could be deadlines if an extension has been filed. So, there is a misconception that there is a tax season. But it’s all year long,” explains Adams. To stay current, Adams has to attend continuing education courses that teach her new tax laws and everything that may have been modified from the previous year. Then, every three years she must re-certify.

There is no doubt that Adams loves what she does. She has the flexibility of working from home or going into her office at her leisure. She admits that it’s hard work, but you must put in the time if you want a successful business. As much as she enjoys building her clientele, she doesn’t mind referring those she knows she can’t help.

She’s witnessed other companies take advantage of customers financially then ask her to assist them in fixing their issue. It’s not about how much money she can make, it’s about how many people she can help.

Currently, Adams’ son and daughter-in-law also work for the business which makes it a family affair. She offers, the key to a family business is that you leave your drama at home. Even her grandchildren help around the office and get paid a small fee.

“If your office has a bad atmosphere, your clients can sense it. If you’re mad at me that day, stay home,” she says. “Right now, I’m sitting here with my kitchen table a mess and paperwork everywhere. I work all the time. Everyday. But I love what I do and wouldn’t change it for the world,” she beams. h

T/E General Accounting & Tax Services, LLC 1105 Wendover Ave, Suite D Greensboro, NC 27405 336-265-8348 www.teaccountingtaxservices.com

There are some things that you do not mess with when it comes to ladies. The most important one to remember; don’t mess around with her purse, pocketbook, or handbag.

Rita Hinton of Dallas, TX has embraced this notion and made a business out of it. She is the CEO of Savanah Bleu, a retailer that specializes in designer style handbags without the designer price tag. She is quick to point out that she doesn’t sell any kind of “brand name” handbag. “My styles are big brands, and have the same quality. I specialize in vegan leather, faux leather, and genuine leather,” she says.

Rita can be best described as someone who is dynamic and determined. She is the middle child of Ray and Dorothy Hall and was born in Dallas, TX in April of 1969 and raised in a small town in West Texas. She has always been ambitious and independent in her thinking. At the age of 50, she received her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Dallas University.

Rita shares that she is a hard worker who has decided to work hard for myself. Her entrepreneurial experience began with her selling jewelry. “I love jewelry, accessories, and fashion. When I dressed up, women would always ask me where I purchased my jewelry, or my handbag, and sometimes even my attire. One day I was sitting at a restaurant eating lunch, and a young lady approached me and asked where I purchased my earrings. I couldn’t remember because I had them for quite a while. However, she asked to purchase them right off of my ears. And so it began,” she says.

Savanah Bleu Handbags was launched in 2009. Rita began by first dipping her hand in selling costume jewelry. She then added handbags and soon it became her best-selling product. She shares what has helped her business more than anything are the prices. “I’ve always told myself that I would not put a price on a bag that I myself could not afford. I firmly believe that every woman should be able to afford a nice quality handbag. Therefore, my prices are for all incomes and my target group are women that want to look good, stylish, and classy.”

There are a few key factors that help to make Savanah Bleu successful. Rita shares that two of the key ingredients are superb products and great customer service. “Handbags are my thing and I love selling them. I believe that you must love what you do, and equally love what you sell. You must also love your customers, even on the bad days. I believe in providing my customers with quality. Savanah Bleu offers quality, all the time. Quality merchandise, quality prices, and quality customer service.”

Rita has also been successful because she is committed to meeting the needs of her clients. “I’ve worked in customer service for more than 20 years, and throughout the years I have learned that customers love to be pampered and appreciated. Although my business is an online business, I am available at any time. My clients have full access to me, 24 hours a day. Even if it’s just to say hello, I am there. I maintain a personable relationship with all my clients which has proven to work well. I have the best customers this industry offers,” she says.

Though Rita finds inspiration in many things, she says her mother inspires her the most. “She passed away in 2014, but before then she instilled in me to always do well, be good to people, and to always put family first. The next person would be my father. He taught me to always be myself. He told me that even if I try to be or act like someone else, not everyone will like you. It’s best to just be you and let the chips fall where they may when it comes to others and their opinions of you,” she says. She lost her father on Valentine’s Day of this year, and with both of her parents gone, she has pushed herself to take my business to the next level and to live life to the fullest.

Savanah Bleu www.savanahbleu.com (469) 509-5982 savanahbleu@yahoo.com

Like most businesses, Savanah Bleu has faced its share of challenges. The biggest one Rita shares is consistency. “I’ve learned I will not make money every day, and sometimes not even every week. Still, I cannot let that discourage me from continuing with growing my business. There are times that I make absolutely nothing, and the next week I can’t keep stock or restock fast enough. I have learned that working for yourself is not easy. I understand that one must put in just as much effort and time into owning a business as you would working for someone else. It is a constant perpetuation of time, effort, and research,” she says.

In the future, Rita plans to continue to build Savanah Bleu into a reputable company. She is currently working on her men’s line, Savanahbleu4him, which will offer men’s jewelry and accessories. It is scheduled to launch in November 2020.

She also offers some advice to others who may follow in her footsteps in regards to entrepreneurship and business. “Follow your dreams. Even if you must keep starting over, never give up on you. Nothing happens overnight and anything you want, you must want to work to get it. Nothing will be given to you which makes obtaining it all the better. Good luck and you can do it!” h

By Dawn Cauthen Thornton Photos by Kristen Wray Photography

If ‘Just Do It’ was a person, Alexandria Ford would be the poster child. Ford is the reigning Miss Indiana University And will quite possibly go on to compete in the Miss Indiana pageant that feeds into the Miss America competition.

It’s unbelievable that Ford did not grow up on the pageant circuit. She participated in a small scholarship pageant as a senior in high school that focused on networking, confidence building, and tips for success in college. She proudly took home the first runner-up accolade but didn’t enter another pageant until her mother encouraged her while in college.

“My mom wanted me to do Miss IU for a while and since I was a senior, it was my last chance. Even though I didn’t have that much experience, it was really easy to understand the information to compete,” says Ford.

A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, she spent time consulting with her sorority sister, who had previously earned the crown, to ensure she was competition ready. The most important aspect of the pageant is your social impact initiative and Ford was passionate created Female Empowerment; A Seat at the Table.

“It was all about empowering women, especially women of color. Because with my own experiences as a minority in business, it’s very important to instill that confidence especially at a young age.” The queen thought of the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington and envisioned an after-school program for elementary school students. She planned to implement a mentorship and workshop opportunity to help girls learn about different careers. “Though they live in a college town, many of them never thought about attending college,” says Ford. The program would match the mentee with a mentor in the career field they wanted to explore. The senior presented her idea to the organization and they were excited to execute it. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic surfaced, and the program was postponed. She hopes to reignite it this fall.

Another significant category in pageants is talent. What do you do when you don’t necessarily have a traditional talent? You tap into your intellect and find the best part of you to showcase. Ford decided to display her public speaking skills with her own Ted Talk. She used her minute and a half time limit to discuss her female empowerment initiative.

Since winning the crown, Ford has graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economic Consulting and International Business. She admits that economics isn’t her favorite, but it was very much needed to pursue a career in management consulting concentrating on Strategy and Operations. She had the ‘Just Do It’ mentality and she did just that. “Most people ask what my major means and it’s basically helping big businesses with strategic goals that they have. It involves modeling different market scenarios.” Soon the graduate will be relocating to Chicago to work for Deloitte Consulting, with whom she interned for previously. Being a woman of color in an industry dominated by white males is challenging, but Ford has charged herself with changing the tides once she gets to work on the recruiting team. Her main goal is to help create an environment that more minorities would want to be a part of.

After serving as Miss Indiana University, Ford plans to continue her efforts while working in Chicago. She was recently accepted at the Wharton School of Business’ Advance Access Program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will pursue an MBA, after working for 2-4 years. Her idea is to continue her mentorship with an organization with the same interests. “Hopefully I can help other young girls reach what they want to do in their life.” If she has Alexandria Ford on her team, she’ll be well on her way. h

Sister Friends United Inc.

Information by Rhonda Aaron Photos by Randall Lee-Contemporary Imaging Stylist- Style Me Stephanie, MUA- Brianna Young

Rhonda Aaron of North Little Rock, AR has devoted her life to helping and serving others. She is the Founder of Sister Friends United Inc., a non-profit organization of minority women with a mission to support, uplift and empower its members to better serve the community. Sister Friends United Inc. was founded and incorporated in the State of Arkansas in October 2007. With well over a decade of service to the Pulaski County community, they have provided $30,00 in scholarships to assist young minority women in pursuing their dreams of attaining a college degree. They’ve hosted an array of workshops, conferences and luncheons for women with topics ranging from finance management to health and fitness. Rhonda’s story is quite interesting. She grew up in Dumas, a small town in southeast Arkansas. There she learned her work ethic, playing piano on Sunday’s for the New Light MBC youth choir at age 9. Growing up in church “I learned how to pray and lean on God. This foundation continues to carry me through life. I never would have imagined having my very own day in two cities, receiving awards, and being the subject of news features. I contribute my upbringing to the success I’ve achieved in life. I passionately believe in the importance of hard work and being kind to others,” she shares. She also credits her grandmother for being a good example of giving your time to serve others.

Rhonda says she’s learned through the years while working for Sister Friends United Inc. on how important it is to have a solid and consistent brand that people can trust. There are so many nonprofits that don’t survive but their formula has worked for over a decade. Rhonda states, “We are a group of black women who are impacting our community. Our motto says, “United We Stand, United We Make a Difference”.

Sister Friends United initially started as a means to connect women and resources within the African American community to gain financial education, healthy living information sessions and empowerment conferences and workshops that would empower attendees to be stronger citizens of the community. A few of the inaugural year initiatives were to form a community partnership to focus on health and wealth. They connected with Baptist Health and Trainer Phyllis Hodges to teach healthy lifestyle habits. They also hosted a financial education workshop on budgeting, investing and retirement plans.

In 2008, the organization wanted to expand their community reach to support future minority women leaders. As a result, they created the Faith Scholarship. It was established for a female minority senior with a competitive GPA that plans to attend an Arkansas four-year college. They hosted the first formal banquet program to recognize the scholarship honorees in May 2008, at the Burns Park Hospitality House in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

As they began to gain momentum in the community by volunteering to work with and support other local nonprofit organizations, they wanted to grow their scholarship banquet to include honoring women in the community for their achievements and local community work. This idea birthed the inaugural Women of Excellence Awards and Faith Scholarship banquet. The purpose of the event was to provide a formal platform that would recognize the career achievements of African American women in their community, provide encouragement to the future leaders receiving the scholarships, and to inspire the event attendees. The honorees were recognized in five areas including Education, Media, Health/ Social Service, Religion and Business. The first honorees were Dr. Katherine Mitchell (Education), Dr. Emma Kelly Rhodes (Religion), Annie Abrams (Social Service), Korto Momolu (Business) and Evangeline Parker (Media). Some of our most notable honorees included Dr. Jocelyn Elders and Honorable Lottie Shackelford.

May 12, 2018 was the 10th anniversary of the Women of Excellence Awards and Faith Scholarship, which represented honoring 50 women since inception and presenting our 28th scholarship. This event has been featured in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette as a High-Profile article titled, “Women Power” as well as being broadcast on Comcast Community local TV and many other magazine features, including STAND magazine and ML Community.

Sister Friends United Inc. is also committed to helping other nonprofit organizations. The Annual Hat Luncheon was created to bring awareness to and monetary support to other nonprofit organizations as well as local African American business owners. This annual event has donated $2,500 to help support the mission of several local nonprofit organizations including Sisters Living with Alopecia, Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Sickle Cell Support Services, Timmons Art Foundation and Bearden Productions Art Studio, to name a few. The program includes local business spotlights and the notable hat contest.

Their Read, Write, Get Fit and Lead & Back to School Bash is a biennial program focused on supporting the needs of girls’ ages 12-18 and teaching key fundamentals that are important to their success as future leaders. There are breakout sessions and various speakers for each topic that stress the importance of education when it comes to reading, writing, self-care and responsibilities as a leader. The 2018 event was sponsored in partnership with a grant provided by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield through their Blue & You Foundation. One hundred and ten girls have benefited from these free summer programs.

Each year, Sister Friends United Inc has provided a holiday meal and breakfast for a family in need as well as fulfilled the request of a child from the Salvation Army’s Angel tree. They have received names from and partnered with Second Baptist (John BarrowPastor Ivan Lambert) and volunteer annually with Power 92 to support the Watershed with a monetary donation and preparing food boxes to distribute to families in need.

Rhonda shares that she is inspired by women winning, and others who achieve success and live their dreams. “I understand that journey and it is inspirational to see the victory,” she says.

The future seems to be quite busy for the organization. They are preparing to expand outside of their home base in Little Rock, AR and opening national membership opportunities through their SFU Sister Circle, with a purpose to connect like-minded women through sisterhood and service through smaller chapters. They are also hosting their inaugural Girlfriend Conference in Orlando, Florida, on June 3-5, 2021. Its purpose is to bring together women from various walks of life to F.U.S.E “Fun, Uplift, Sisterhood and Empowerment”, They are combining a girlfriends trip with a powerful empowerment conference that will incorporate fun girlfriend activities, powerhouse motivational speakers. The threeday conference will end with a concert by Raheem DeVaughn.

Rhonda has a Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Strategic communication from UA Little Rock. She is currently the Co-owner and Chief Operations Officer for Mid State Counseling and Recovery Service, a mental health agency located in North Little Rock, AR. She currently resides in North Little Rock with her husband of 26 years, Deon. They have one adult daughter, Brianna and a feisty four-year-old grandson, Chance. You can follow Sister Friends United Inc on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, You Tube, and their website. h

Rhonda Aaron Sister Friends United Inc. www.sisterfriendsunited.com

GlamHer Hair Addiction

By Laci Ollison Photos by LA Photographie

During the day, she has the responsibility of delivering packages and mail to local residents as a postal worker, but at night she is mixing, creating, and serving up natural haircare products to her male and female customers who are looking to grow and maintain their healthy locs and manes.

Thirty-three-year-old Jaquesa Finney is the proud owner of GlamHer Hair Addiction, which offers natural hair products for all hair types. She founded her company after gaining inspiration from her sister who was diagnosed with cancer and lost all of her hair.

“I wanted to help women who have lost their hair for different reasons to be able to grow their hair back out longer and thicker,” Finney said.

Her oldest daughter also has exzema in her hair which caused Finney to want to create a product that could be used on children’s hair as well. “I really wanted to create a natural product that would help women establish healthy hair habits for themselves,” said Finney. “Although many of my customers wear weave, I want them to understand that that’s okay, and they can still wear weave but their hair should be healthy underneath when the weave is removed.”

She shares that her best selling product is her hair juice which helps hair grow thicker and quicker. “This product is mainly for women experiencing some type of hair loss,” said Finney. “Women with alopecia, women that have been through chemotherapy, or even women who have hair loss from using any type of chemical treatment. It really helps thicken the hair and grow the hair out from where it has been lost or damaged.”

“I went to hair school, but I never wanted to actually do hair. I was always more interested in formulas and mixtures and creating products. I focused more on anatomy of hair than actually doing hair.”

GLamHER Edges Control

GLamHER Conditioner

GLamHER Juice

GLamHER Shampoo

Customers have also used her natural products on baby’s who have experienced cradle cap and need moisture on their scalp and help with their hair growing back.

GlamHer also offers a variety of other haircare products for customers such as shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, leave-in conditioner, and edge control. “My edge control works with all different types of hair,” said Finney. “I have a lot of customers who wear locs and they like to use the edge control to retwist their hair.”

The single mother of two said that she has always wanted to work for herself and to own her own business. And although she has always had a passion for hair, she says that she was never really interested in becoming a hair stylist. “I went to hair school, but I never wanted to actually do hair,” Finney said. “I was always more interested in formulas and mixtures and creating products. I focused more on anatomy than actually doing hair.”

Finney said that the science behind hair and hair products drew her more because she loves science. She also earned a degree from Baptist College of Health Sciences in Memphis.

The Memphis native said that she then learned how to make hair products by taking a class.

“I took a class on how to mix products together and I learned what mixes well,” Finney said. “Once I learned how to make products, then I added my own style to make something that would work for all hair types.”

Finney also said that when coming up with inspiration for her products, she had a specific type of hair and customer in mind. “My target was 4C hair because that’s the type of hair that one of my daughters has and it is the hardest type of hair to retain moisture,” she said. “But my family all has different types of hair. My other daughter has a mixture of hair types and I have 3C and 4A.”

She also shares how it was so important for her to create a product that would work perfectly on all of her family’s hair, no matter the texture. “It’s a very versatile product that we can all use and that works on all of our hair.”

As an entrepreneur, Finney says the hardest thing about managing a business has been the marketing.

“It’s hard, but I’m still learning. I’m still learning, and I try to make live videos about my products and the process to create them so that people can get a behind the scenes look at what I’m doing and how their products are being made.”

But Finney says that being consistent and having good customer service is what has helped her be successful as a business owner. She also hopes to pass down the importance of entrepreneurship to her daughters. “I try to keep my daughters very involved in my business. Not only do they help me get my products together by helping with packaging, but they are also coowners of GlamHer Hair Addiction. I want to encourage and teach them that they don’t have to work for anyone else if they choose not to.”

The businessowner is now looking to start two lines of products specifically for kids and for men. “The men products will be for men who may have a receding hairline and are looking to grow their hair back out or who may just need a good moisturizer for their beard,” Finney said.

GlamHer Hair Addiction has been in business for over a year and you can also find the natural hair styling products on the shelves of Color Essential on Jefferson Street. All of the products that GlamHer offers are vegan friendly and have been approved by the FDA.

Ja’Quesa Finney GlamHer Hair Addiction www.glamorousbombshell.com 615-863-1578

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1400 Battleground Avenue Suite 144-C Greensboro, NC 27408 336-763-7425

With the rise of Social Entrepreneurs With the rise of Social Entrepreneurs Phyllis Bridges, local High Point Historian can see her Phyllis Bridges, local High Point Historian next level on the horizon. Yalik's Art and Cultural Movement is beginning its evolution to can see her next level on the horizon. bring inner city history, culture and art under one roof. To find out how you can be a part of the movement Yalik’s Art and Cultural Movement is Contact Phyllis Bridges beginning its evolution to bring inner city pbridgesa@gmail.com history, culture and art under one roof. To find out how you can be a part of the movement Contact Phyllis Bridges pbridgesa@gmail.com