Who’s The Boss? – Page 3 – Wilson Rogers & Company

My Time As A TurboTax Ask A Tax Expert

October 2011. There I was staring at Craigslist searching for roles, projects, gigs and jobs that I could use to supplement the income from tax work that would soon begin with our new office. One role in particular struck me; one where you would be giving tax advice remotely during tax season. This sounded right up my alley but I was skeptical. “This is on Craigslist? Is this legit? What company is this for?” Long story short – it was legit and it was being offered by the fine folks at Intuit, the same company behind the TurboTax brand. So now what?

I applied for the role and shortly after Christmas I got the call that they would like to speak to me. After what I’ll call a “challenging” computer assessment (which I thought I crashed and burned in) I got the call inviting me to join the team. I happily accepted and got ready for a month of training and then a month of working on the floor taking calls and chats from customers. Boy, was the fun just about to begin!

Our training cohort (Wave 7) had about 30+ individuals in it from all walks of life, geographic locals and disciplines (Attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents). Some were like me who were “relatively” new to the tax game while others were battle tested veterans who had been in the industry for 20+ years. Want to talk about feeling like a rookie? I can say that I truly appreciated learning some things from the people who had seen it all, knew the specifics of the IRC regulations and could rattle off IRS publications and forms as easily as someone who is fluent in a second language.

Training flew bye with the blink of an eye and before I knew it, it was time to jump into the pool and either sink or swim. The first few days were a little stressful as I became acclimated to how the phone and computer interface operated with my equipment (in particular my headset). Yet after a few days, taking calls was pretty seamless and that’s when I began to really experience what the role had to offer.

When it comes to operating a tax practice, every office is a unique animal. What I mean by this is that the nature of the clientele AND the preparer are usually interlinked. If you are a newer preparer such as myself, the chances of your client base containing a significant amount of retirees is probably not high. Thus, the number of returns that I would work on that would involve retiree topics (e.g. annuity payments, required minimum distributions, IRA to Roth conversions, etc) would be limited. But what happens when you are connected to taxpayers who have questions from all over the country, across varying social economic groups and from all ages? You learn!

During my time on the floor, I handled numerous questions ever single night. Some would come in that I had an “expert” working knowledge of while others made me want to scream in terror as I had no idea how I was even going to tackle it. Yet, the questions that terrorized me in my initial discussions with customers proved to be my biggest learning moments. I remember the question about an individual who had bartering income and needed some help figuring out where to report it. There was the question from a New Jersey taxpayer on why their Federal NOL wasn’t showing up on their state return. And then there was the one about the mixed use property and a Section 208A ordering of expenses.

In each one of those interactions I had to learn something in a short amount of time. Sometimes I was learning about the tax law, sometimes tax forms, sometimes the software itself. In addition to learning, I had to ensure that the guidance I provided to the taxpayer was sound and grounded in fact. Lastly (but certainly not least) I had to ensure that the taxpayer understood what I was conveying and agreed that I had actually solved their issue. Individually none of those things are complicated nor stressful. However, when you combine them all and repeat the process several times within a few hours, let’s just say that you have to stay on your toes!

As I write this post, April 17^th 2012 is coming to a close and the clock is swiftly ticking towards the deadline to file on time. Over the next few days I will begin to transition out of the Ask A Tax Expert role as well as wind down the office for the offseason. Yet in looking back, I think I have to admit that I was fortunate to find that ad on Craigslist that one October day. Through this experience I had the opportunity to meet some really nice professionals, challenge my tax knowledge and learn about things I might not have touched for years to come. And just like the work I do in my practice, I had the opportunity to really and truly help make a difference in the lives of several individuals.

The work I did was not life or death surgery. Yet if you ask the callers whom I helped resolve their issues, you might get a different take on what they think I did! To all my ATE colleagues, it was a pleasure working with you and I hope our paths cross again in the future. To all the folks at Intuit, thanks for allowing me the opportunity to participate.

Until next time.

By Administrator|2012-04-17T15:19:58-06:00April 17, 2012|Categories: Who's The Boss?|Tags: ask a tax expert, turbotax ask a question, turbotax ask a tax expert, turbotax ask an expert, turbotax ask an expert fee|Comments Off

Dealing With Adversity

As I started to get up off the ground I began the usual “check and see if anything is hurt” routine. I’ve fallen off my bike dozens of times before so it’s usually no big deal. Only problem this time was the fact that something “was” actually hurt. I stood there looking (in disbelief) at what appeared to be a dislocated wrist. “Maybe if I just pop it back in place everything will be okay?” is what I was thinking. Too bad I’d later find out that it was broken.

Two weeks prior to the above escapade, I crumpled in the front end of my car when a lady decided she wanted to stop in the middle of the intersection on a green light. She had no insurance and the damage wasn’t worth me paying the deductible from mine. A few weeks prior to that some other random challenge raised it’s ugly little head. What’s going on in my life? Who did I make mad? Why are all these “challenges” presenting themselves? Why is this happening NOW, when we’re trying to grow the business? Why, why, why?

The next time an obstacle presents itself to you, you’re probably going to consider one of these four routes:

Escape You feel as if the challenge is too much for you so running away feels like a good option. Only problem with this is that the obstacle isn’t really gone. It’s just waiting for you to find it again so it can continue to apply its unwelcome pressure on your life.

Conformity This is the “okay, you win” approach. When faced with an obstacle you are really at a point where you are “stuck” so-to-speak. You can’t move forward (easily) and you probably can’t go back to the way things were. If you conform, you’re really just a notch above escaping. What you’re saying is “a known evil is better than an unknown one. The challenges of life are just too overwhelming. Conformity, surrender or assimilation are the only realistic options.”

Fight One approach is to fight whatever the challenge is. You can do this via denial, obstinacy or just flat out refusal. While it may appear that you are winning by not giving in, the reality is you are not making any progress or solving the situation.

Belief Call it meditation, reflection, prayer or spirituality. While the aforementioned will help comfort the soul and mind, they are only a part of the answer. Wanting something to be different will typically not change the situation by itself. Change takes more than just desire.

This brings us to the option not listed – moving forward. Let’s face it, life is difficult. However, our attitude is what determines whether we benefit from misfortune. The same furnace that melts gold also hardens clay. When faced with the heat of life you can either become hardened, callous and cynical or you can let it hammer, forge and shape you into a better and stronger person. Case in point? Dick and Rick Hoyt.

When I was younger I never really understood all those adages like “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Yet then again, I also thought that “making ends meet” was some type of weird food process. Anyway, the point is that all of those sayings have a point which is, you have to move forward.

I got up off the ground, drove myself to the ER and got my arm fixed. I’ve adapted my computer to work with my left hand, which isn’t my dominant one. I’m counting down the days to when I can start rehab. But most importantly, I’m grateful that it’s not worse. Be thankful for whatever situation you are dealing with because someone far worse off would give anything to be in your shoes.

By Administrator|2012-03-26T14:20:53-06:00March 26, 2012|Categories: Who's The Boss?|Tags: dealing with adversity, dealing with adversity in life|Comments Off

A Day In The Life of a Small Business CEO

So what’s it like to be the CEO of a small or developing business? The answers are probably as varied as the individuals that head these organizations. Yet the one common thread which I’m sure we all have in common is this; you’re responsible for everything. Let me elaborate.

When I worked a “corporate” job, there were all types of functions to take care of various tasks. The folks in Marketing made all those fancy advertisements. Sales guys and gals made sure the money keep flowing in. Legal dotted the I’s and crossed the t’s and made sure no one did anything to get us in a bind. IT kept all the systems humming along and fixed them when they went down. Security kept the riff raff out of the building. Maintenance made sure that the lights worked right and when something broke it got fixed. The list goes on and on.

Now when you are the CEO of a small business, you assume all those roles and functions simultaneously. I remember recently a good colleague of mine saw my title change on LinkedIn (to CEO) and sent me an email congratulating me. I jokingly responded, don’t be fooled by the title, CEO really just means Chief Everything Officer! So what is a “typical” day in my life like now that I’m at the helm? Let’s take a look and see.

5:20AM Time to get up and get ready to go. My wife travels a good deal of the time so that often means I have to drop our daughter off at day care. We’re out the house at 5:40AM and I’m typically back at 6:20AM. From there it’s time to get ready for my commute (I bike to work) and get headed over to the office. The biking to work serves two purposes. One, it allows me to save on gas and conserve that every dwindling savings of mine. Two, it allows me to get my race “training” in as I often don’t have the time to do full workouts (hey, you make do with what you can get done and move on).

8:00AM I’m typically walking in the office around this time. First task is to get all the computers and printers going while I get cleaned up and changed into my “office duds.” Once I’m ready to go, I have to get our “Uncle Sam Air Dancer” up on the roof so that passing drivers will notice that we’re even there. Yeah, the office has signage, but you’d be surprised at how much you drive by places a thousand times and never realize that they even exist.

8:30AM Doors are open, neon signs are on and it’s time to go to work. The first two hours of the day typically involve me responding to customer emails, returning calls, scheduling the work load for the day, sending out prospecting calls/emails, etc. This is a bunch of administrative stuff that has to get done, but unfortunately I can’t focus on it for too long because I have to eventually do the work that brings in the checks.

Noon Maybe I stop and cram some food in my face. Maybe I keep working on cranking out the work. Maybe I am talking face-to-face with a customer. Eventually I will get to eat something, but there really is no such thing as a “lunch break” anymore.

6:30PM Time to close up shop. The day is typically too short and there is always something left to do. I try to table it until the next day UNLESS it involves a customer. Customer service is essential to building a good brand name and it happens with each and every client interaction. Mess up once and you’ll pay for it more than you even want to imagine.

7:30PM If my wife is home then this marks the time when I can begin family time. If she’s gone then I have to go and pick up the kid first. Either way it goes, from now until about 10PM it’s me getting my daughter and I ready for the next day, getting food on the table, getting ready for bed and then eventually falling asleep by “accident” as I put my daughter to bed.

Now, if you read above, no where will you read that I talked to my friends, checked my personal email, checked my Twitter timeline, yada, yada, yada. Is that because it didn’t happen? Nope. It’s because it didn’t happen while I was AT work. When I get home, I get a few minutes here and there to do those things. But when I’m at work, if it’s not a revenue generating task, it gets to wait. Like the old adage goes, nothing happens in business until you make a sale. That’s why in corporate America you typically work in a “cost center” as opposed to a “profit center.” This is also why the sales folks often get paid a boatload of money, because they actually make the business happen.

Lessons Learned?

So what has this transition taught me so far? Well, I’ve had plenty of “Ah ha” moments and I’ve also gained an appreciation for many things. But it I had to pick a few of my best lessons, I would say:

There’s Never Enough Time The day goes by too quickly and there is ALWAYS something to do. Most of this “something” has nothing to do with making money, but it never goes away and if you stop doing it, you more than likely will run out of or lose your customers.

You’re Emotions Are Always On From the time I get up to the time I go to sleep, I am always thinking of the business. Things go right, things go bad and in the middle of it all, there I stand. I often don’t have time to relish in the moment of anything that happens. But what I will say is that no matter what’s going on, I’m always feeling it until the minute I go to sleep.

You Don’t Know Jack Yeah, you know how to make the product you sell or deliver the service you offer. You might be good with computers, but there will be a time when something goes wrong and you will have to fix it (or call someone to). With that said, you are always learning. No matter how much you know about each function, you will always be learning more about it. And even if you do know about the function, you will always be learning about tasks. For example, you may know marketing, but it may take you a few attempts to “learn” which ad actually drives traffic through your door.

It’s Always An Adventure For those of you who like change, then this job is definitely for you. No two days are exactly the same. Every day you will be pushed to your limits in terms of learning, flexibility, time, skills, etc. It’s both fun and scary at the exact same time. There is no “Oh, I’ve learned everything in this role and now I’m board. When is my next rotation or promotion?” Instead there is “Wow, how do I figure this one out? And once I do, what’s around the bend?” But this is what makes being a CEO one of the most rewarding roles out of all the ones I’ve previously had.

Until next time.

By Administrator|2012-02-23T12:09:47-06:00February 23, 2012|Categories: Who's The Boss?|Tags: small business ceo, small business ceo life, the daily life of a ceo, the life of a ceo, the life of a small business owner|Comments Off

Emotions In Business? Getting Over The Fear of Failure.

So, my corporate career officially ended on January 13^th 2012. During the time leading up to this date (as well as this first week out at the retail office) I had the opportunity to talk to lots of people about my transition. One of the recurring comments I encountered was how admirable it was to strike out on my own. This was often followed up with a statement surrounding how it must take guts to do it, or how that individual wishes they could take the leap. Because this topic came up on numerous occasions, I figured I would share my thoughts on just how I got to the point of walking out the door.

The History

My corporate career spanned over 12 years, 4 companies, numerous positions and a host of experiences. I enjoyed what I did and I would gladly do it all again. However, I can remember that even when I was young, I always envisioned running my own company. This dream remained squelched for most of my corporate career, but when I hit the 5-10 year mark, the voices in my head started getting louder and louder. If I was going to be true to myself, I owed it to myself to at least evaluate the option.

The Decision

Wilson Rogers & Company was founded back in 2005 as a side project. It grew over the years, but reached a point at which the growth became inhibited. This was largely due to the fact that the company had no full time operations nor did it have substantial market visibility. If the company was going to move into the next phase of existence, it was going to take full time dedication. Given the desire to move forward, it was decided that someone would need to take a more commanding reign of the helm.

Are You Crazy?

So it was decided that I would be the one to assume the driver’s seat. But just what was I doing? I was going to give up my “secure” corporate job in the midst of a recession to try and make a company work? I was going to “throw away” 12 years of corporate education to run a shop that takes little to no credentials to start? I was going to “waste” the money spent obtaining my BS in Accounting and MBA in Finance to work on a start up? Really? This is what I had spent all these years building my career for? To go and risk it on some unproven, unknown commodity that could potentially fail and leave me and my family in shambles?

The Rationalization

If I were to say that I didn’t doubt myself, I’d be lying one of the biggest lies in my life. Of course I doubted myself. Here I was about to strike out into the unknown and I worried if it would work. But through many encounters with people, reading lots of articles and books and just thinking through things, I got to a point where I said that I was the only one who was really standing in my way. But what about all those “are you crazy” questions? Here’s how I worked through them all:

While we all think our corporate jobs are secure, we all know that the reality is far different. Ask those who worked for Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Tyco, Enron or Arthur Andersen. At any given moment, you can walk into the office one morning and be told your career is over. What I was giving up was not security but predictability. If I showed up to work every day and didn’t do something to get me canned, I could expect a nice direct deposit into my bank account every two weeks. Now, the checks come based on how hard I work and the flow is completely uneven. But if I can work hard for someone else, shouldn’t I be able to do it for myself?
What about the recession? Being in the finance function of a company allows you to see how business is performing. Yes, the economy has been slow, but plenty of companies are actually GROWING during this time. There were 144 million individual tax returns filed in 2010. With that said, I figured that the market had plenty of space for a small company to come in and try to get just an inkling of the market. I mean, someone out there has to be looking for a new tax preparer or accountant right?
Was I really throwing away my corporate education? No. It was my corporate education that in actuality prepared me to make this move. Additionally, I had 12+ years of knowledge in my possession. If worse comes to worse, I feel pretty confident that I can go back to counting someone’s money. It might not be the company I want to work for, and it may take a little time to happen, but I’m pretty sure my skills are worth something to someone out there.
Yeah, anyone can start a tax preparation business. Someone with a High School diploma can start a bookkeeping business. But it takes someone with some skill to start an accounting, tax, consulting and personal finance company. The fear that I really had was what would people think of me (with all my credentials) starting what just about anyone on the street could do as well? In the end, it doesn’t matter what others think. What matters is what you think of yourself, and I figured that all of that education and credentials were just making me better prepared to strike out on this venture (vs. someone who didn’t).

The Fear of Failure

In business we are expected to act in the absence of emotions. However, the reality is that businesses are run by humans and we humans are emotional beings. Fear is a pretty powerful emotion, as it should be. The fear of falling is what keeps most infants from killing themselves. The fear of fire keeps all of us from burning ourselves. These are rational fears; those that are grounded in reality and pretty proven consequences. However, we all must be careful from allowing fear to hinder our possible growth, especially irrational fears.

When most people think of starting a business, the two biggest fears are 1) failing in their endeavor and 2) not being able to provide for themselves. At the onset, these are very rational fears. However, we tend to make the unknown bigger, badder and far scarier than it is in reality. Thus the fear of failing morphs into what will people think if I fail, what if I can never get another job, what if I’m no good? The fear of not being able to provide for yourself becomes what if no one buys our product, what if I run out of money, what if we go bankrupt, what if we wind up homeless?

Irrational fears are those that will keep you parked on the sideline of the best dance in the world. They’ll keep you from experiencing things that you have a passion for. They’ll even cause you to let life pass you by and leave you wondering “what if” in your dying days. But the reality is, irrational fears are just that, irrational. What if no one buys your product? True, this could happen. But how many people get their taxes done again? What if you fail? Tomorrow brings you 24 new hours to redeem yourself. What if you can never get another job? Really? Last time I looked I thought all burger joints were still hiring.

The point is this, yes, the possibility for failure exist in just about everything we do. And while a healthy dose of fear is good (especially to make sure you don’t run off unprepared or living in a vision that isn’t based on reality) we shouldn’t let it paralyze us. So get out there and try something new. Take a stab at following your dreams. Talk to that one person you’ve had your eye on but were too afraid to approach. The worst thing that can happen is that you fail, while the best thing? Who knows, but we owe it to ourselves to find out!

Until next time.

By Administrator|2012-01-22T15:31:28-06:00January 22, 2012|Categories: Who's The Boss?|Tags: emotions in business, fear of failure in business, fear of failure in the workplace, the fear of failure|Comments Off

Hey, Who Is That Guy?

Businesses are funny entities. They make the products we purchase, seduce and entice us with their ads and even influence the world we live in. But behind these often ambiguous enterprises are real life people like you and I. They have lives, families, hobbies, interests, opinions and the like. Yet, most customers never get to really meet these individuals who, in reality, are the life source of the company. With that being said, I figured it would be nice to share some interesting facts about the guy who primarily runs this blog thingy.

So in short, my name is Jared R. Rogers. I’m the guy at the helm of Wilson Rogers and have been for quite some time. It is true that I am a Financier by trade and have been involved in many facets of the profession (Public Accounting, Industry Accounting, Operational Analysis, etc.) for over 13 years now. Yet, I am far more than just a “numbers guy” and if you had a chat with me at length, you’d probably wonder just what I am doing in the accounting field. So how about a quick round of 10 questions?

1. Just how did you wind up in Finance?

Back in High School I had an interest in going into law enforcement. But the idea of facing the thugs and hooligans of Chicago’s mean city streets didn’t really appeal to me. Thus, I thought that working for the Illinois State Police or FBI was actually a better option. Problem with the FBI is that in order to be an agent, you had to have a college degree in one of five fields (Accounting being one) AND you had to have two years of work experience. Thus, when it was time for me to graduate, I decided to go and work for the Accounting firm KPMG, LLP. Needless to say, I never went back and applied for that FBI gig!

2. You’ve been in the profession for over 13 years?

September 13th 1999; that was my first day in Corporate America. Ironically, the picture below is me headed off to my first day as taken by my mom – yeah, my parents were gracious enough to let me live at home my 1st year after college (that was before I bought an apartment building at 23 and became a slumlord).

I worked in the audit practice of KPMG for about 3 years and during that time passed the CPA exam. Eventually, I decided that 50-60 hour work weeks weren’t worth my health and decided to get a “normal” job. From there I went to the tool manufacturer Robert Bosch (they make Bosch/Skil/Dremel) and got a gig in the accounting department. Over the course of two years I decided that accounting was kind of boring and that the “sexy side” of the business (Finance) was where I wanted to be.

So with that, I began pursuing my MBA and in the process switched jobs to PepsiCo. I worked at PepsiCo for about 4 years and in the process got to work as a Financial Analyst for Gatorade. It was here that I got to work on some pretty cool things, saw the importance/value of all functions within a company (e.g. Sales, Marketing, R&D, etc) and really figured out that my mind is actually more oriented towards business as a whole versus just accounting. After PepsiCo I moved to Hyatt where I assumed management roles within the BU Finance function and Corporate Planning & Analysis (FP&A) team.

3. So just how did you start doing taxes?

Well, being an accounting major, I was not going to pay someone to do my taxes. Thus my start in taxes began with me doing my own. Owning an apartment building led me to learn the intricacies of some of the more complex individual tax matters. I’ve always been a proponent of giving back, and during the time when I was working for KPMG, I began to participate in the IRS’ VITA program. After a few seasons of working with VITA (and the typical “hey, you’re a CPA, I have a tax question for you”) I decided that doing taxes on the side might be a cool way to pass the time during the winter. So from there, things just started to grow and I’ve been involved in the tax world ever since.

4. If you find accounting boring, finance sexy and you have a business oriented mind, why do you do taxes again?

As I mentioned above, I’m not your typical accountant. When I say that accounting is boring, I mean that the process of recording entries and preparing financial reports is not exciting. Most of the information is historical in nature (meaning it’s already happened) and it is very routine in nature. Finance and business tend to be more dynamic and really benefit from forward looking analysis. I mean, if you are stuck in the desert, trying to figure your way out of the place is far more exciting than looking at the footsteps you’ve created in the sand right? Thus, taxes are intriguing to me because there is a fair amount of ambiguity and getting it right can sometimes be a challenge.

5. You left KPMG because of your health?

The short answer is yes. At the time I hadn’t learned to manage stress appropriately and my body manifested this as mild high blood pressure. I take my health pretty seriously so I decided that my personal wellbeing was worth more than the paycheck I was making. With that, I decided to move on, which gave me more time to participate in activities and just love life in general.

6. What are these said activities?

They have varied over the years, but typically involve me being active or using my mind. I played football in High School so I’ve lifted weights for many years. During this time I also rode as a bike messenger which really kept me fit. I’m also a big fan of electronic music (hey Chicago is the House Capitol of the US in my opinion) and used to DJ when in college. While I no longer DJ, I love to hear a good mix during my training and workouts.

In my initial years of corporate work, I had less time to be active so I wrote a book just for kicks. I also became interested in motorcycles as it was a natural extension of my love of bikes. Best trip? Chicago to LA and back during a summer road trip on my Honda Shadow!

But all of that not being active caught up with me and at one point my weight topped out at 218 lbs (I played football at like 165 lbs). So in 2007 I started racing bikes for these guys. I can honestly say that the past 5 seasons have been a blast especially this most recent one. This is from one of my more memorable races this summer:

In addition to the above, I also enjoy swimming and yoga as I find they balance my body out given all the time I spend on the bike.

7. So your weight has obviously gone down right?

Yes, but it wasn’t without a lot of hard work. See, when your body is used to being active, it takes a lot to get it to shed pounds because it’s adapted to the workload. Well, that and when you like to eat like a horse and love sweets like I do! Combine that with the fact that bike racing is REALLY hard, it became obvious to me that I would not do too well weighing what I did. So over time, I began to modify my already 90% healthy diet and started working out even more. With that, the pounds started to come off. With a little more focus on my offseason training and shifting to a Vegetarian diet, my weight is down to within 10lbs of where I want it to be.

8. Wait, you don’t eat meat?

When a car pulls up to me on my bike in the dead of winter, inevitably the driver looks at me as if I was the escaped Bronx Zoo Cobra! The same reaction is usually what I get when people hear that I am a Vegetarian. I haven’t “knowingly” eaten meat since mid-2010 (I’m sure someone may have slipped me a Mickey or two) and while I can’t say that I will never eat it again, I can say that I have no intentions to do so in my foreseeable future. Over the years, I had refined my eating to mostly turkey, chicken, fish. However, it was after reading an article about the treatment of animals going to the slaughterhouse as well as the health benefits of eating a meat-free diet (and the impact on athletic performance) that finally pushed me down this path.

When I was younger I wanted to be a veterinarian before I wanted to work for the FBI. I also wanted to race in NASCAR which may explain why I love racing bikes? Anyway, I have always had a love for animals and raising them for food just kind of feels wrong and wasteful. By wasteful I mean, we feed a cow tons of grain (to make it weigh a few tons), use gallons of diesel fuel to truck it to a slaughterhouse, use tons of water and electricity to process and package it so we can have a burger. Why not save all the middle men and just give me the chickpeas in the form of some tasty olive hummus?

9. So sustainability isn’t new to you?

Nope. Back when I was little I remember that I had to earn my extra money. My sister and I would go to the local train tracks and pick up all the aluminum cans that people tossed from their cars. My father would then take us to the recycling center and we’d cash the cans in. Thus, I think I’ve always been conscious of wasting things in this world and doing what we can to minimize our impact on what we take. The same goes for business. One of my roles at PepsiCo was within the Process & Control Development group. This team’s job was to figure out how things worked and figure out how to do them better and more responsibly. So, I’m a big proponent of helping businesses do things better, faster, cleaner and more efficiently than their competitors.

10. I thought accountants lived in black and white. Where do you think your open mind comes from?

I went to Catholic school from grammar to high school. I attended a liberal arts college. My parents always encouraged my sister and I to do whatever we wanted to in this world, so long as it was legal and didn’t hurt anyone else. Based on this foundation, I had a lot of exposure to many things in life. And because I had all of this exposure, I think I came to my own conclusion that there are many options when it comes to things in this world. You don’t have to be a Catholic, you can follow the teachings of many of the other religions of this world or you can follow none of them at all. But at the end of the day, we all tend to believe in treating people well and trying to do what is right. So with that said, I tend to place less importance on individual beliefs so long as we believe in the same general things.

However, when it comes to the land of taxes, there is no such thing as having an open mind. You either do it right or you cause yourself a lot of grief. Personally, I can do without the drama in my life!

Well, I know this was a long post, but hopefully you’ve gathered a little more about the man behind the curtain. Yes, I live and breathe in the world of finance, but I am also a regular person. I love interacting with people, helping out those in need, trying to keep this bag of bones in shape and keeping the old mind active. While I am far from perfect, I strive to do the best I can each day and hopefully make someone’s day a little brighter. Until we chat again.

By Administrator|2020-09-16T11:12:54-06:00December 22, 2011|Categories: Who's The Boss?|Tags: jared r. rogers, Jared Rogers, jared rogers cpa, Wilson Rogers, wilson rogers IL|Comments Off

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