This month Amy sat down with Jon LaMarie with Bedrock Accounting & Tax Solutions. Bedrock Accounting & Tax Solutions focuses on creating accounting processes for small business owners through the tax preparation process. They also prepare individual tax returns for clients as well. They focus on creating a strong foundation in the accounting processes which allows the business to grow and to plan accordingly for the future.
AMY: [00:00:04] Hi. Welcome back to our Community Spotlight. I'm Amy, the community manager at our Greenwood Village office. And today I am being joined with Jon who owns Bedrock Accounting and Tax Solutions. Jon, thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it.
JON: [00:00:26] Yeah. No problem.
AMY: [00:00:28] So let's get into it. You are a little bit of a newer member here at Enterprise. You got your little pup with you in the office today. Thanks again for taking time out to talk to us. So tell me a little bit about your company and what you do.
JON: [00:00:46] Yeah, sure. So the name of my company is Bedrock Accounting and Tax Solutions. And we focus on creating accounting processes for small business owners through the tax preparation process. And then we also prepare individual tax returns for, for clients as well.
AMY: [00:01:05] Perfect, perfect. How long have you been in business for?
JON: [00:01:11] So we started or I started in 2019, August 2019. So I guess we're running up on five years now. Crazy to think about that. We've been on we've been going strong for five years. And yeah, so we started out as systematic accounting solutions. And that was just, you know, on a whim, trying to come up with a name for the business. And then we changed the name to Bedrock. I want to say about a year ago, year, about a year and a half ago.
AMY: [00:01:46] And tell me about the name. Like, how where does that come from?
JON: [00:01:50] Yeah. So Bedrock. You know, one of the things I noticed when I was working as a tax accountant you know, at a at a tax firm was that, you know, a lot of people would come to us to do their tax preparation, but their bookkeeping would and their accounting processes would, would kind of be a mess. So when I kind of rebranded the business, I went for Bedrock to to kind of express foundation you know, and so what we try to do here you know, in my practice is create accounting processes and a strong foundation in the accounting processes. You know, that being bookkeeping, payroll and and that allows us, you know, that allows the business to grow and, and allows us to plan accordingly for the future. So, you know, bedrock meaning, foundation, meaning let's, you know, let's kind of anchor ourselves in the accounting processes. And then, you know, the business can grow as big as it wants.
AMY: [00:02:51] Cool. I love the name. I think that makes perfect sense. And as a former small business owner myself, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate my accountant. Like best money I spent on a monthly to make sure my books were in order. The number you know.
JON: [00:03:12] Yeah, yeah. No.
AMY: [00:03:13] Paying somebody to maintain all of that is so
JON: [00:03:19] That's something that I, I really wanted to focus on when I went out on my own you know, is, is I want to be a little bit different in that, you know, I want to be available. I want to create a lasting relationship with my clients. You know, I don't want my clients to feel like they're just a unit or a cog in the wheel. You know, where I talk to them once a year, I send them a tax return. You know, one thing I really try to focus on is client relationships. You know, every client that, you know, every tax return we prepare, we we review those tax returns on a zoom meeting or in person, go line by line, you know, because I really want them to understand what it is we're doing. And so I think that's something that separates you know, our practice or, you know, what we try to do here compared to a lot of accountants out there. Right. And, and I think that's really important.
AMY: [00:04:07] Amazing. So, I mean, we've kind of you just kind of stated about that, that that's kind of what's making you different from a lot of other Companies in in your same field. Is that taking that time and building a relationship with your clients.
JON: [00:04:28] I mean, I think really at the end of the day, it's, you know, we're trying to fill the need of the client. And so, you know, I don't want to sell something that isn't going to work for a client, you know but generally if I'm going to do a client's tax return, for example, you know, I want to have a hand in the bookkeeping to create that foundation, you know, and for some clients, we do full service bookkeeping. For some clients, you know, we do quarterly or, you know, bi annual review of their books because they're not, you know, they don't really need full service. But the whole idea is, is to get them engaged in the accounting process and to coach them along the way. Right. And that makes doing the tax return so much easier.
AMY: [00:05:10] Right and they have a better understanding of what's all going into that.
JON: [00:05:17] Exactly. And that's important, you know you know, it's they're signing a tax return, and that's very important. They should know what they're signing. So, you know, I want to coach them. And that's and I've gotten a lot of great feedback from clients where, you know, the first year we go over a tax return and they're kind of a deer in headlights you know. But by the second, third, fourth year, you know, they're used to the process. And now they actually understand, you know, what's going on with the tax return. And that's important because that gives them good information to make important business decisions.
AMY: [00:05:48] Right, 100%. What made you choose Enterprise Coworking?
JON: [00:05:57] Well, I so I started out remote when I started my company at my prior tax firm, we used to do a lot of meetings over zoom, and so I was used to using zoom. And when I started my business, you know, just like any other small business I really didn't have the, you know, the cash flow to come in to cover an office or anything like that. And then after Covid and working for three, four years I guess four years in a home office at my residence I just started going a little stir crazy. And, you know, I was you know, and it had gotten we've gotten to the point now where having an office space is, is really important and allows me to stay focused. And so, you know, I shopped around a little bit and enterprise had a great rate. And I came in and talked to you, Amy, and she showed me around and, you know, I really just enjoy, you know, the, the just the casualness of it. You know, everybody here works hard, but you come in and, you know, you make friends and, and it's just a very comfortable place to, to work, you know, having access I spend a lot of time here after hours. And so being able to come in here, you know, I came in on Sunday night at about 7 p.m. and left about 10 p.m.. And so just, you know, the, the, you know, availability and, and just you know, being able to come in when I need to. It's just great. Overall. It's been it's been such a good move and I've seen actually just you know, I've seen a lot of You know, my work is I've definitely been a lot more efficient and a lot more focused, not nearly as distracted as I was at home. So I love it here. That is the greatest, greatest move I've made so far.
AMY: [00:07:48] But yeah. So to any of your friends that are working at home, tell them you know come check out the coworking space because i think it's good for your mental health, too, to have a separation of, you know, a home space where you can relax and then a workspace where you come to be productive. And especially our members here in Greenwood Village, I think you feel that people are here to get the job done, to work, to focus you know. And it's just a great place to come get your work done.So yeah we love having you.
JON: [00:08:27] Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, I was last thing I'll say is just, you know, working at home being a small business owner, you can never really turn it off. And it's, it's the difference between being an employee versus being a business owner. An employee you can clock out and you don't have to think about work. As a business owner. You know, you're kind of always on. You're always thinking about things. And so having the separation of, you know, home life and work life, that work life balance is super important. And I've seen, you know my anxiety has gone way down and I feel a lot more accomplished after a long day here. So. Yeah. I appreciate everything that you guys do.
AMY: [00:09:06] That's so cool.
JON: [00:09:09] And I can bring Chico with me, so.
AMY: [00:09:10] Yeah, and you can bring your buddy, so that's awesome. We love that. Is there anything else you want to tell any of the members watching about your business or any, like, next moves you have coming up? I know we just kind of ended tax season and.
JON: [00:09:29] Well we got through the first deadline. Tax season never really ends. But kind of the way that it works is now with the frenzy of tax, the tax deadline being over, you know, we have a lot of work to get through. And you know, really kind of the tax season ends October, September, October after the extensions. But no. Yeah. I guess, you know, the goal is to just keep it growing at a steady pace, not to stay, not to get too overwhelmed because most accountants get pretty overwhelmed. If anybody's interested in services, you know, I am available. I do try to limit the type of services and the amount of of clients I take on just so we can keep the level of service up. But, yeah, if anybody has questions or anything you know, I'm in office 110 in Greenwood Village, so.
AMY: [00:10:19] We will be sure to post a link and, you know, contact info for you if people have any questions or are interested in your services. So look for that under this video though you'll be able to get that information.
JON: [00:10:40] No website right now. I just I just want to say no website right now. It's kind of we're kind of in between websites, but email is the best way to get ahold of me, so.
AMY: [00:10:49] Okay fabulous! Well, we'll post that below the video. So people have that contact info. Hey, thank you so much for sitting down with me today. I really appreciate it. I appreciate you having you here as a member. Thank you so much for watching. This month's community spotlight. And we will see you next month with another interview. Thanks, guys. Have a good one. Thanks, Jon. Bye. Thank you.
.