Fired at 30! Real life story on how I became an entrepreneur.

Recently, an Instagrammer I follow posted a question: Fill in the blank the age you knew you wanted to be an entrepreneur.

For me, that urge started right after I had my daughter at 25. Crap! Here I was, a 25-year-old mom with a Masters’ Degree wanting to call the shots in a big company and I couldn’t. This was way before the age of Instagram, and influencers, and overnight celebrities. Shoot! What can I possibly come up with that can give me creative and financial freedom?

I was married at the time and my ex-husband and I created an event planning company. There has always been an artistic, creative side of me and what a wonderful way to explore it by making someone else’s dream come true. We called it “Le Reve” or the dream. Being the kind of person I am, of course, I started to make relationships fairly quickly. I made friends with linen suppliers, DJ’s, florists, and caterers. I even got myself featured in a bridal show and thanks to my charm (modesty aside), I got bumped up to the first row of the exhibition…FOR FREE! Oh, what fun! I met with brides, I threw little kids parties, I even designed invitations! Unfortunately, work took a toll on me and I had to let the dream of “Le Reve” go.

My second chance came 5 years later when I had just turned 30. During my years at the big accounting firms, I always held a little side gig prepping taxes in my house. People begged me to take it bigger. They offered me spaces in their offices for cheap rent and the promise of financial freedom, but the thought of leaving a job with benefits, pension, and insurance was daunting. I kept saying to myself, if I ever get fired I would have no other choice but to do it and make it. And guess what?! During 2014, in a firm restructuring, I got fired! Oh my! What in the world would I do now? I must say at this time, I was divorced with a 5-year-old and a mortgage. Yikes! Well, everything pointed in the direction of opening my own tax practice and I sure did.

CorpOne Financial Services was born in November 2014. From the handful of clients I would do taxes at home, word of mouth, and lots of Facebook marketing; I created a business. That year was horrible financially. I took money out of my 401k and even had to get a part time job at my local Macys to make ends meet. At the end of the first year; I had 200 clients paying approximately $100 each. I also decided to actually sit for my CPA license and stop letting that be a roadblock in my career. And I did it! By the end of 2016, I had passed all four parts of that gruesome exam and I was a proud licensee! Woot woot! Pop the champagne and throw the confetti…:). By the end of 2018, I had close to 800 clients paying close to 200k in revenue annually all by myself.

During my years in CorpOne, and completely on the personal level, I met a wonderful soul. Vincent was an entrepreneur with goals and dreams and probably no limits to his desires. We were an instant hit and the stars and constellations out there all pointed for us to be together. By the end of 2018, we organized a trucking and logistics company which was an overnight wonder. Due to our success, and time limitations, I decided to put all my focus on this new company and found a gentleman ready to buy my CorpOne book of business. The transition was smooth and by May 2019 I was dedicated solely to the logistics world.

In August 2019, I decided I missed my career. I wanted to stay in touch and give back some of the knowledge that I have gathered throughout these years. CorpOne Financial Services is now Corp1 and is geared to mentoring and empowering professionals. I have designed a vision for it of several workshops to stay current and offer the advancement young and seasoned professionals need. I want to partner with professionals and offer our expertise and industry edge to better the future of the profession. I don’t know what the future may hold but that’s the roadmap for now. The very first workshop will take place now in November and I sure hope the sky is the limit! I will sure keep you posted on the progress! Wish me luck!

Currently I run both businesses and my daughter is almost 10. My life is a bit hectic at times but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in this world. I love what I do and I love serving people. Both of my companies offer services that are aligned with my passion and values. So maybe that’s the key to making it.

So I leave you with a bit of my history and what has propelled me to always keep moving forward. And now I wonder, when did it happen for you? Please leave me a comment or email me your stories at mirel@corp1llc.com. Would love to read them and get inspired by them.

Thank you for reading and let’s catch up soon!

Till then,

Mirel