Today we’d like to introduce you to Ley Ebrada.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ley. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
Andres Ebrada started as Andy’s Income Tax in 1982. He started this business of tax preparation as an aspiring Accountant. Hardworking and driven, he was working as a mechanic and going to school for Accounting. He opened up this business in his home, and two years later during tax season, he welcomed me into this world.
He soon got a job at the San Diego Unified School district as an Accountant, and eventually, his business grew so much that I started helping out with our family business. It would turn into years of me learning the ins and outs of income taxes. Eventually, I streamlined our processes to take on more clients and one year I started getting my own clients, it continued to grow by word of mouth.
I continued working alongside my Dad for many years, growing our little business year by year. January 2015 my Dad passed away, he was my best friend and business, partner. I was grieving and was unsure if I could continue doing taxes without my partner in crime. I laid my father to rest two weeks before we were scheduled to start seeing income tax clients. I was unable to make any major decisions around that time and remember floating through the days.
One day at a time, one foot in front of the other.. I took it day by day. My best friend and a business partner was gone and I felt unsure of the future of our family business. I didn’t know how I could face our clients. I was going to put everything on hold until I could face the new normal. Clients started calling my Mom, worried that I wouldn’t be doing the business anymore. Reluctantly, I continued on with income tax season.
Each client that came in the door shared stories about how they found my Dad and how much of a blessing we was, how his knowledge comforted them and how he gracefully fixed other tax preparer’s mistakes. They held me in that same light and encouraged me to move forward. Those stories were therapeutic and helped shaped how I run my business today, putting our client’s best financial interest at the forefront.
It sounded like a beautiful legacy, I just didn’t know if I had it in me to continue this business without him. I welcomed each tax season missing my Dad and tried to keep his business clients happy. Late 2016, I made the decision to start the company my Dad created and turned it into something that was both mine and his. I incorporated my company under Ebrada Financial Group.
A mix of my Dad’s last name and my business acumen. I had to honor that I was the one to lead moving forward, I was the one who would grow it based on my Father’s ideals and morals. So I left my corporate job and self-funded my company, I took a chance on myself. 2017, I expanded my service offerings to offer Accounting support. 2018 we were able to grow our business by nearly 65% thanks to referrals.
We also extended our business services offerings beyond accounting and taxes to include invoicing and billing, budgeting, W2 and payroll services, and business consulting. 35 years later, I continue to honor my father’s legacy and mission to improve our customer’s’ financial standing through tax consultation, financial advocacy and accounting support for businesses and non-profit organizations.
Each day, I remember him fondly, and everything he’s taught me and I honor it by supporting womyn run small businesses and non-profit organizations.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
An entrepreneur’s path is rarely smooth for long as sooner, or later they will inevitably find themselves facing new challenges. My experience is no different. This year, I began to expand my business by offering new financial services geared to new entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized businesses.
This endeavor brought along a whole set of challenges I didn’t face last year. For example, this year I increased my tax client customer base by 64%. This record growth required me to hire new employees to ensure that all of my customers continued to receive the same excellent service.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Ebrada Financial Group – what should we know?
We offer Tax Preparation and Consulting. We specialize in personal, business and corporate taxes. We also offer Accounting Support to small and medium-sized businesses.
I’m proud that we are a womyn owned and operated business, in the next year I have a project that will launch to create jobs where my Dad was from in the Philippines. In our company culture, we take empowerment very seriously from self-situational leadership to personal growth.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Resilience, there’s normal up’s and down’s in business. It can feel personal at times but, like storms… it usually passes. Also, to be very clear on your why when business gets tough it’s important to keep that close to your heart.
Pricing:
- $200+ for bookkeeping services
- $400+ for income tax preparation
- $75 tax consultations
Contact Info:
- Address: 7220 Trade St. Suite 207C San Diego, CA 92121
- Website: www.ebradafinancial.com
- Phone: 8583756854
- Email: info@ebradafinancial.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ebradafinancial/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ebrada-financial-group-san-diego
Image Credit:
Cherry Doung of Cherry Collaborative
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