From Passed Over to Partner: Finding a Firm That Values You

Transcription – From Passed Over to Partner: Finding a Firm That Values You

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Welcome to the Proof Point Podcast, where we decode digital success one click at a time. We share key takeaways fueled by data and insights that your team can implement today to drive growth. Now, let’s get started.

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This is Stacie Porter Bilger, your host for the Proof Point Podcast, where I feature B2B and D2C businesses and thought leaders sharing marketing, data tactics, sales strategies, and leadership insights that will kickstart your growth in this rapidly changing digital space. This episode is brought to you by Proof Digital. Proof Digital is a strategic and creative performance marketing agency.

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We partner with companies to create data-fueled marketing sales funnels and overall growth strategies. Visit proofdigital.com to learn more. Before I introduce our guest, I just do want to give a shout out to Jeff Curiel, COO of Donovan CPAs, for introducing me to our guest today.

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Donovan CPAs has been a longtime friend and client and partner and really an inspirational business to aspire to of our company. Donovan has been in business for more than 50 years, offering multiple business financial services, tech services, and overall business strategy. Our guest today is Trishia Hamilton.

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Trishia has recently been promoted as tax partner at Donovan CPAs. She works remotely in the El Paso, Texas area, but makes sure she is available to team and clients. That’s where the world is today.

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We can work from anywhere. She is proud to make meaningful connections. Even if she is 1,400 miles away, Trishia, thanks for joining me today.

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Thanks for having me. Yeah. To kind of get started, I know that you are new to this position, and you actually were at a team retreat recently, and you kind of went through your career story.

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I think it elevated the room, and you might have even brought some tears to the eye about your story. Can we start there? Is that a good place to start? Yeah. So, where I came from, I worked for someone for about 20 years, around 20 years before I came to Donovan.

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In that job, I learned a lot, good and bad, and so I learned a lot, and I did a lot of different things there. I didn’t just do taxes. I did payroll.

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I did compilations. I did sales tax. I did a little bit of everything. It was a small firm. Okay. It looked like you have a question.

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No. No, you’re good. I mean, I’m thinking through my questions, but no, so it’s a small firm, and you were there 20 years, and you’re some bad and good, and then probably you learn more from the bad. Yeah. But it took me a while, right? Yeah. So, yeah, so it was a small firm.

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It was the partner, me, and an office manager, and then we had a couple of people that came in part-time during tax season, and then the partner and the office manager were related, so I was like, oh, it’s kind of the odd one out, right? But I was really devoted to that job. I mean, obviously, I stayed there for 20 years. A long time.

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Yeah, and it took me a while to figure out that I shouldn’t be there. You know, small firm, at first, we had health insurance, and then that was dropped. I had no benefits except for a simple IRA claim.

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My responsibilities increased every year, but there were no promotions. There was no track to any kind of advancement there. Yes, sorry.

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No. I mean, it just, it’s almost, I don’t mean, almost kind of an abusive situation to be from an employer standpoint. I didn’t think that it was, it took me a while.

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I think when COVID hit is when my eyes really started opening about things, and in that last year, I tried several times to go and talk to him about it, and he kept on pushing me off and pushing me on until, you know, I got through tax season, April 15th, and then May 1st, I was out after being put off so long. So, yes. I mean, taking advantage of, I mean, that’s a better word, maybe, just totally just taking advantage of maybe, potentially.

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I think so. Yeah. So, what turned the corner for you? And I mean, obviously, he put you off a long time, and then you said, okay, I know there’s a better, there’s another, a better path for me here.

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Well, you know, I didn’t even think, in my head for all of those years, I thought, well, this is just the way it is. You know, this is just, you know, I’m doing my thing. This is what I’m supposed to be doing.

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I was just there, right? And it really actually took my husband, my now husband, and that’s another story. We can go there, or we don’t even have to go there, whatever you want to, but you had a supportive person in your life who said, there’s a better way, there’s a better way for you. I mean, life is too short.

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You got to find a culture that, that will elevate you. Yes. And he saw in me what I didn’t see in me. I mean, at that time, I was not a confident person. I didn’t know, you know, that I had abilities that were maybe, you know, that somebody would value. And yeah, if it wasn’t for him, I might still be in that position.

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Right. Yeah. So, so he, he gave you the confidence says, Hey, look, you’re, you’re, you’re selling yourself short. You have all these skills. You just been in this situation where nobody valued it. So then therefore you didn’t value it.

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And then the switch happened and you left. So what happened after that? After that, I decided I didn’t ever want to work for a CPA firm again. And here you are, they’re not your traditional CPA firm, so we’ll, we’ll give you, okay.

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So go ahead. So you said, I’m done with that. So what happened then? Yeah. So, I mean, I tried, I thought maybe, you know, I didn’t want to work as many hours. Maybe I even wanted to work part time or, you know, less than full time. So I was, I was applying for positions, but I was being told that I was overqualified and that they had other positions that they would want me to apply for.

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So I did that for a little while, just kind of still tried to do that. And then I had actually, I had two choices when it, when I, before I started Donovan and the, the interviews happened at about the same time. There was a CPA firm that was looking for somebody just to basically work 40 hours a week during tax season, doing reviews.

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And it was less hours during the rest of the year. And I had that interview and then I usually wouldn’t answer headhunter calls. And for some reason I did.

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And I basically told her, I told her, I’m like, okay, well, I’ll work. You know, 40 hours a week and during tax season and 30 hours outside of tax season. And I want to be paid hourly.

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And, you know, I just kind of put up down like all of these roles thinking that she’s going to say, okay, nevermind, you know, whatever. And she said, well, what, what, let me talk. I think I might actually have somebody.

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And it was like within a day, I think that I got, she wanted me to send my resume over to Donovan and Jimmy got ahold of me right away. We had the, the interview. And I think maybe within two days I was offered the position.

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Okay. I was actually offered both of the positions. And if you want me to tell you why I chose Donovan. Yeah. I would love to. Yes, please.

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Yeah. So yeah, I chose Donovan. The biggest thing that stood out to me was Jimmy told me that he would love to have an experienced person that could help teach and mentor the younger staff.

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And I was like, oh my gosh, that is me. That is what I love doing. Okay. That was, that was it. That was it, which is a great, I mean, great hook there. And the piece that I heard you say, which I know a little bit about Donovan is they don’t try to fit people, you know, a square peg in a square hole.

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They try to say, okay, what are your personal goals? What, what do you want to do? Okay. If you don’t want to work 40, 50 hours a week, that’s okay. What’s your track? What are your personal goals? What do you want to be? What do you want to, do you want to coach? Do you want to teach? Do you want to elevate others? Okay.

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We can put that into your plan. And I think I don’t, I mean, I work that within my company, but not quite. I mean, there’s a lot of lessons to be learned from Donovan as they’ve grown to help people be the best of themselves.

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And I think that’s, that’s a unique, it shouldn’t be unique, but it can’t, but it can’t be right. Yeah, I know. Yeah, you’ve been there and, and there’s, and the message from what I’m sure everybody heard in that room was that there’s a better way.

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There’s a better way. So I think when you say, you know, after telling them that story, what I then went into is when I came to Donovan, I was, people were coming to me and asking me for advice. I would, I would voice something and I got it.

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I got to see it put into action. I had no confidence when I went in there and, you know, these things that are happening to you, you know, they empower you to do what you love to do and, and, you know, empower you to take over things. You know, I came in and I changed a whole process of the way 1099s were done.

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Right. They said, go for it. I’m like, this can be so much better. They were like, go for it. And that year after we did it that way, I was told, wow, that’s better. And now I’ve actually passed that down to one of the other staff members, Cassandra, and she’s made it better.

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And that’s, that’s what we want to do. Right. We just want, and people, I want to hear their ideas and I want to empower them to go with it, you know? I mean, people, employees, people, whoever, their employees or friends or whatever, they want to feel valued.

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I mean, period. I mean, we want to feel valued. And, and when I hear your story, that’s what I, the previous company, um, squelched that.

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But when you, when you were valued a whole nother elevation of, of your confidence, your implementation skyrocketed, it seems to me. It was, it was crazy to me. Um, you know, like coming to me and asking me questions and asking me for advice and like, whoa, wow.

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You know, they actually value me. Yes. And I might actually be smart. You are smart. Um, it’s hard to get there. And I, and when you’re already in that situation, I mean, you’re trying to survive your, you need a paycheck, you need all those things and you just kind of, and it’s easy to some degree, even though it’s painful.

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Um, but what I’m hearing is, you know, you got to do it, just go out there and jump. And there there’s somebody that there who will, who will value the gifts that you have. Right, right.

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Now you’re a partner. You’re officially, uh, stepped into a partner role at Donovan CPAs. Congrats.

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How do you, how do you feel about that? It’s still new. Yeah. You know, it, it’s, uh, it’s a wow kind of thing because I never saw myself being on a partner path.

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You know, I just, I just kind of do what I do. And I guess I, I, I do end up in, in leadership kind of positions, I suppose. But, um, I, I really didn’t think that, I don’t know, it’s, it’s a wow moment and I’m still getting used to it. Yeah. Well, congrats. But I mean, you, you went in, you were given that freedom.

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You were empowered, you were valued, and then you started making change. You put an idea out there, it’s like, go for it. And then it worked. And then you did another one and then it worked. And so now you’ve kind of elevated the whole Donovan team and their clients, um, with your skill sets. And so, um, it’s, it should be a pretty big milestone for you.

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Well, yeah. I mean, when they asked me, I was just like, really? So it was, uh, incredible. How do you, how do you manage this new leadership role? 1400 miles away.

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How do you manage that? You know, that was, that was, I had never worked remote before. Okay. That was the first thing, right? So I was already nervous and didn’t have confidence and, you know, but, um, the biggest thing that I wanted to make sure that I accomplished was to, um, have those meaningful connections with my, my whole, the whole Donovan team and my clients.

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Right. So, um, I think I’ve done really well with that. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I’m always available. I’ve got my, you know, email messages. We do a lot of teams meetings, phone call, um, whenever I, yeah. And I, I really made sure that I spent time with people and I’m pretty good at making the connections and I’ve made it work. Right.

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Yeah. We have a, my, my company is, um, um, primarily all virtual as well. And we were always hybrid before the pandemic, but then we kind of all, and I have team members in multiple States.

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But it’s really, I mean, and I feel like I have a closer relationship with them. If I, then I did, uh, if we weren’t in person, we still have in-person things like you came to Donovan and you do those things and you do, uh, because that’s when I was meeting with BJ and, uh, Don, uh, Jeff Donovan this morning, um, it was priceless to be together. However, I can have conversations.

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I can get to understand where people are. I can give them flexibility and some certain things. And, um, we use a tool called Slack too, in addition to the other forms of project management, but it, you can work faster sometimes this way too.

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So, um, I think, um, I don’t think 1400 miles is a, as a barrier. I think you get this to bring it strains to it. Yeah. Yeah. And, um, I, I am told actually, I’ve been told a few times that it feels like I’m in the office, um, so beyond the team’s meeting and then walk behind and they’re like, Oh, Trish. And that’s helpful too, because you can feel isolated too.

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You didn’t, and that’s a, as you can, it’s more about, I mean, how you make sure that you don’t feel isolated from that, that structure. Talk about the, I mean, the culture and the leadership of, uh, of Donovan, um, and how can others be inspired by this firm? Do you think, what are some, I mean, I mean, it’s large contrast for your previous employer. Well, you know, it was very interesting to me after that meeting and I was done speaking.

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I actually had several women that came up to me and said, and they’re new to Donovan and said, I was, I was in the same boat as you were. And I came in coming here. It’s like, is this real? Like I’m actually being listened to.

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I’m being valued. I’m being able to put forth my ideas and implement, implement them. Yeah. Yeah. So that, that was, that was really cool. That was really cool.

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So there are a lot of people that have come from, um, workplaces like I did, you know, yeah. And then you come to something, some place like Donovan and it’s like a, wow. You know, I didn’t know this, these kinds of places existed.

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All right. Yeah. And, and I will tell you, they will succeed in the long run. They’ll grow faster. They’ll, they’ll attract the best talent. Um, I mean, your previous company, I mean, it doesn’t sound like they had a lot of growth.

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It was just kind of stagnant. And, um, and so I think, uh, companies who really value or want to grow, um, and be an attractive place to come for, for talent to come to, this is the culture that wins. I agree.

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Yeah, because all those, those folks, and specifically sometimes I know it’s, um, women can often be in that case, not always, but, um, in that case, um, from a value standpoint, um, I can’t even imagine the productivity that’s going on because of, of that fact of their feeling value versus any other culture that could exist. Right. Because if you, and if you’re in a position where, you know, that your ideas are listened to.

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Yeah. You’re going to want to make things better, more efficient, more, uh, you know, you want to bring that to the table and because, wow, you know, I’m actually being listened to and that they’re empowering me to do it. So what, what does that do? It’s like, I’m going to keep on thinking.

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And if I have an idea, I’m going to raise my hand and say, Hey, you know, it’s, it’s awesome. It’s, it’s probably creating internal entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs within the firm. Um, and I mean, we have a lot going on in our lives, our families, and if you don’t want to get up and get excited about work, that’s not going to be a production person either.

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So, I mean, so you’re building something. It’s fun to build something. Right. And being a part of that, it is what, um, you know, what advice do you have for. Especially women in accounting or, or in, in cultures that, um, maybe they aspire to leadership positions or they don’t know their value yet. What, what are, what are some, what are some thoughts? Well, my thought, my, my main thought is don’t get stuck.

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Like I did don’t, don’t, don’t, I don’t want to work for a firm that doesn’t, um, that doesn’t value me. Doesn’t listen to me. Maybe if I come up with an idea, it’s just like, ah, yeah, yeah, whatever.

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You know, they’re not up for change. They’re not, um, there’s no promotions.There’s no advancement. I mean, don’t stay there, you know, um, get out there and do it. And yeah, it’s scary to try something new, but look what you can find. I mean, you live once and time is ticking.

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And so, you know, there are opportunities out there to be had. Yes. But that risk is so much less than the risk of staying someplace that, that doesn’t value.

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Um, what excites you about the future, uh, Donovan? You know, I’m, I’m so much of a people person and I really have, I have some really good connections with, you know, meaningful connections with so much of the staff. I’m excited to keep, just keep on watching them grow and becoming the new leaders. You know, that’s awesome. Yeah.

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So I, that’s what excites me. Where do you see the firm in five years or 10 years? I think it’s going to keep on growing, right? It’s going to keep on growing and, and it’s going to be our challenge to make sure we keep that culture going where, where it’s not, you know, I don’t want to get too big that we lose that. Yeah.

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It’s work. That’s going to be the challenge. think it’s going to keep on growing.

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And I think I’m going to be seeing a lot of my other team members grow in that, you know, grow with it and become, just keep on advancing up, you know, going as far as they want to go. Yep. That, that, that’s it’s going to be, I’ve been working with Donovan for not quite a decade, but not too far.

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And the growth of the company, especially the last couple of years has been fun to watch, fun to watch. And I think it’s, it was a self-reflection of what, what am I good at? And what are other people? And then that, that shift in empowerment that actually changed their, their trajectory. I mean, it was this like the, you know, even Jeff will say, you know, I wasn’t good at that and I was trying to do that and I was trying to do this and this.

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And then he realized that once I got somebody who was an implementer and somebody who, you know, did various things and then he got out of the way, the faster they grew. And so I think that’s, there’s a lot of lessons in that. Yes.

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After, I mean, is there anything that you listen to or read now that you’ve kind of got back to the value in ourselves and elevating your confidence now? Or do you have time? I don’t have time. I don’t even watch TV. I know.

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Yeah, I, no, I need to, when I have time, I like to spend it outside. Well, you know, that is also, that is also helps clear your head. So that’s also, that’s also important.

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I know when I go hard and trying to do things and if I go outside and turn off the phone and walk outside, sometimes my best ideas come to play. Yeah, that’s important to be able to get away from all the electronics and just remember here’s nature out there. There is.

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And it brings calm and also brings ideas and just health as well. All those things. I do listen to a lot of podcasts and probably too many.

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Got my husband crazy because I always have them in my ears. He’s like, you just turn that off. But anyway, in closing, is there anything that you want to, this is the Proof Point Podcast, any final passing thoughts? No, I just, I feel like I have been so blessed.

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And I’m passionate about this company and really honored to have been invited into the partner group. You know, it’s somewhere where I didn’t see myself going, but here I am. And they invited me in.

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You earned it. And you, your skill sets, you know, you, they invited you in. Yeah.

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But then you demonstrated that you’re, you are a partner at Donovan CPAs and, and you bring tremendous value. And they are, like I said, they brought you up this morning. So anyway, congratulations on your new position.

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Thanks for sharing your story and being vulnerable. I mean, you were vulnerable and, and I know that’s going to help a lot of other others specifically. I mean, again, this is women who sometimes kind of fall into that challenge, I guess, for lack of a better word.

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So again, thank you for making that point. And we’ve been talking to Trishia Hamilton with Donovan CPAs. Trishia, thank you for being on our podcast today.

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Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Proof Point podcast. We’ll see you again next time, and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.