HOME-BASED BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT By Ellen Jensen Owner/President: Carroll Platt Company: Carroll’s Accounting Specialists City/State/ZIP: P.O. Box 3976, Olathe, KS 66083 Phone: (913) 710-5132 E-mail: Web Site:www.carrollplatt.com Type of Business: Accounting Services
Carroll Platt opened Carroll’s Accounting Specialists because she believes there are many accounting companies that don’t give small businesses enough attention. She said that because some businesses are so small, in many cases, a large mistake could wipe them out completely.
Platt says that attention to detail makes her service special. She doesn’t just run the numbers; she keeps an eye out for discrepancies that, if not caught, could cripple a business. Such discrepancies have led to incidents of employee theft and cases of under-pricing product.
“I heard somewhere that everything you do is a picture of yourself that can never be erased,” Platt said. “I’m not in this to be a millionaire. I like to help people.”
achtree. She offers training for entering data to the company’s accounting software, which saves small businesses a lot of payroll cash flow. She also can handle all accounting, payroll and quarterly payroll report needs for a competitive fee.
Platt said marketing her services is a huge challenge because people want the face-to-face contact before they hire you. Although most people normally don’t think of accounting as an intimate business, it really is because, like baring your soul, baring your books to a stranger is not easy. Business owners need those warm fuzzies before they let you into the heart of their business, Platt said.
This is especially true when business accounting spills over into personal accounting. Some clients have her take care of their personal checkbooks as well as their business books. They rely on her to keep them out of trouble and to tell them what they can and cannot do financially.
“I know more about some clients than their kids do,” Platt said.
With this intimacy, it makes sense that Platt gains a lot of clients through referrals. She also attends networking functions such as the General Services Administration’s Small Business Networking Breakfast, and she is about to join the Central Exchange. She also is the vice president of the Home Business Connection.
Platt continually is surprised by how many people don’t take her seriously because she has a home-based business. She addresses that issue by explaining that she works out of her home so that she can target small business that cannot afford a CPA with a Corporate Woods office.
“Eventually, I would like to move to an office, but I would do that by taking on more clients rather than raising prices just to have a better address,” Platt said.
She is on call seven days a week, nearly 24 hous a day, but she has learned when to turn the phone off—her daughter’s graduation this month, for example. She has told her clients she will not be answering the phone during those hours. However, other than important personal events, a few hours every Sunday during church services and during appointments, Platt makes herself available for her clients. And, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I think I would go stir crazy if I wasn’t always busy,” Platt said.
She also makes time to meet with her mentor, Malinda Bryan-Smith, with the Johnson County Community College Small Business Development Center. They meet every so often to discuss where she’s headed, as well as to analyze past challenges to see how well she handled them and what she could have done better.
“She keeps me in line and going toward the goal,” Platt said.
Ellen Jensen is the managing editor of Kansas City Small Business Monthly magazine.
