In a recent interview, Joe Sandoval, of Sandoval Tax CPAs, Inc., discussed his life before he owned his own CPA firm. First, he shared that he “never wanted to be an entrepreneur or business owner.” Interestingly enough, that is exactly where his life took him and is a testament to how you do not always have to have it all figured out, to get to where you’re going. In fact, Joel found his life’s purpose through experiencing more than one job in the accounting field, before he realized that owning his own business was the way to go.
Initially, Joel started out at an accounting firm based out of Bakersfield, fresh out of CSU Bakersfield with many accounting offers in Bakersfield coming his way. Joel got tons of work experience at this first job, but the excruciatingly long hours taught him that more work-life balance might be in his best interest. At another job where he was able to find this work-life balance, he again knew that his true calling in accounting would come with time.
Joel’s next step came in the form of an alternative form of work in the accounting world, where he landed on the management side rather than at the accounting desks himself. This is not the job Joel had envisioned for himself at the time, but working for an oil and gas company, tracking commissions, and sending out financial statements for the company were critical aspects of understanding the business side of accounting that later inspired him to branch off on his own.
In Joel’s multiple jobs throughout the years, the thanks he received from clients were the most fulfilling part of his work. With his own firm, he realized that he could cater in the greatest capacity to helping his clients save the most money. This was the deciding factor that helped him give up his six-figure salary overnight to branch off and begin Joel Sandoval, CPA. After five and ½ years, with a now 7-figure income in the business, Joel can easily say the risk has been worth it. However, he would not be where he is today without all the hustling he had to do along the way.
Joel reflects that if he could go back and give one piece of advice to his younger self, he would start learning much earlier about what it means to be an entrepreneur and business owner. As a CPA, Joel knew the technicalities of the field but did not understand how to run a business until he worked in the business side of things himself. Joel’s journey into his own business is a testament on multiple levels: to not give up when things don’t work out exactly as you expect, to invest in the goals you set for yourself, and to look back on the hard work you have already done and take pride in how far you have come. Every day, Joel gets to live out his passion and he would agree that the journey there has been well worth it.