Community Highlights: Meet Elizabeth Zaslove of Zaslove Accounting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Zaslove.

Elizabeth, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After working in corporate public accounting for several years, I kept noticing that there were so many business owners who truly had no idea what was going on in their business financially. I specifically noticed that many female business owners were lost and no one cared to take the time to help them without charging them a pretty penny! When we all had some extra time on our hands in 2020, I decided to start a “small side hustle bookkeeping practice”. I thought that this would be a small supplement to my income from my 9-5 job. Little did I know that this small side hustle would grow to a multi-six-figure business with several employees in just two years! It has been a wild ride, to say the least. There have been many late nights and weekends worked to get us to where we are today. But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No new business is ever a smooth road. There will always be bumps and missteps along the way. There is never any growth without failure. And if you are never failing, then you aren’t dreaming big enough. My first major struggle was hiring my first team member. I found someone that seemed like a good fit for our firm. We hired her and did all of the initial training. Five days later, she quit. And not only did she quit, but she felt it was necessary to tell me how horrible of a business owner I am. She went on and on about how unrealistic it was for me to expect her to learn new software and organization systems (even though it was clear in the job description). Not only was it uncalled for and untrue, but it was flat-out rude. It really shook me to my core. It was so hard to read that email and not believe all of the lies that she said. I will never forget calling my dad and reading it to him crying. I take my work and my firm very seriously, and I was starting to wonder if the things she said were true! My dad (and other non-biased people) reminded me that none of that was true. But that was one of the first HUGE roadblocks that nearly made me want to quit and throw in the towel.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Zaslove Accounting?
Zaslove Accounting isn’t a normal accounting firm, we are a COOL accounting firm.

No, but really! When you think of accountants, you think of old stuffy dudes who don’t want to waste a moment of their day explaining a simple tax topic to you. OR they are so old and out of date that they have NO idea what you do for work. BLEH!

Zaslove Accounting specializes in bookkeeping and tax for online female entrepreneurs. I would estimate that 90% of our clients are female-owned businesses. Many came from an accountant who questioned them on everything they were doing simply because they didn’t understand this new industry.

We offer monthly bookkeeping, tax planning, tax strategy, annual tax returns, and consultations for our clients. We will also be launching education for new business owners to help them learn how to get their business set up properly and learn the basics of bookkeeping and tax.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
When I was first starting out, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. And I tried to do a lot on my own. I would suggest investing in education. That could be books, courses, or even mentorship. You will jump-start your business by doing this. I did not bring in a single dollar of income for a few months, and I couldn’t understand why! I ended up investing in mentorship and within 3 months I had already made back my whole investment.

You aren’t going to be amazing at everything. So, allow others to show you and lead the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: zasloveaccounting.com
• Instagram: CaffeinatedCPA