Entrepreneur Expands Her Thriving Tax Firm With Digital Innovation

Verizon
By: Tina Lee

Helen Mathis taught accounting as a vocational instructor for 30 years before facing a career-defining moment: The school where she worked closed and Mathis knew she needed a new plan. “I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason,” she says of her career pivot. Mathis transformed herself into a tax-service entrepreneur, trusting both her professional skills and a family history in the accounting business: her mother, aunt and grandmother were all bookkeepers.

She started her Pasadena, California-based business in 2014, preparing tax returns for her former students and co-workers. The new enterprise quickly blossomed beyond her network via word of mouth, thanks to the genuine care and attention Mathis shows her clients. “I get so many clients looking for someone who understands them, who isn’t prejudging them,” she says.

With her business growing, Mathis took over a colleague’s lease on an office space, and Guardian, a tax solutions firm, was born. Mathis named the firm in homage to her grandmother, who was her guardian until age five, and who was a local tax expert for her community. Today, Guardian operates out of satellite offices across California, providing financial services for individuals and small to mid-sized businesses.

Always on the hunt for new resources, Mathis turned to Verizon Small Business Digital Ready. The former teacher describes the Digital Ready program as “phenomenal.”

“Not only do you learn, it tests your retention of that learning, giving you the tools to show you how it’s done,” Mathis says.

One of the most impactful strategies Mathis learned was from a Digital Ready course she took about pricing her services. “I realized I was giving away information without being compensated,” Mathis says. She revised her pricing structure to reflect the high-value expertise that she offers, which resulted in a $25,000 incremental lift to her revenue in a single quarter. 

Mathis also improved operations with time-saving solutions she learned in the Digital Ready program, including AI customer management and auto response tools that have helped her scale lead acquisition, improving her volume by 20%. “I get so many more people now who find [Guardian] through search,” Mathis says. Through Digital Ready, she also plans to learn about cybersecurity, an expertise that will enable her to serve larger business clients who are tax planning for cybersecurity costs and might qualify for new write-offs.

Mathis’ business ethos, gleaned from her family, starts with her open door philosophy with clients and extends to her participation in business communities (she joined multiple chambers of commerce after taking a Digital Ready course about the power of networking). She also has bigger dreams for Guardian, aiming to eventually expand her team to offices in every state. For this, she’ll continue to rely on learning through Digital Ready: “It’s helping me see my vision more clearly. I’m actually implementing the steps and seeing [what] I still need to do,” she says.

Mathis says she dedicates at least 200 hours annually to continual education and learning within her field. “To be the best that I can be for my clientele, you need consistent, valuable training. I want to be a resource to my clients,” she explains. She is training her staff bookkeepers to eventually take on clients for Guardian, and one day, she also hopes to leverage her Digital Ready knowledge to mentor other small business owners. “I’m getting all the knowledge and education possible to open doors not just for myself, but for my clients and other small business owners,” she says.

Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is part of Verizon’s goal to support 1 million small businesses by 2030 with free resources to help them succeed. To sign up, visit Verizon Small Business Digital Ready. Visit CitizenVerizon.com to learn more about the company’s responsible business efforts. An individual user’s experience may vary and results are not guaranteed.