Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Rhoden.
Steven, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a person who believes in perseverance through faith in God. Life will challenge you with barriers and set backs, but part of the challenge is finding a way to learn from your experiences and bounce back. Along the way you will find others who struggle in similar ways. Take your new found skills, grow them, and then apply them to helping others around you. This is the essence of my life story.
As a child, I lost both of my parents. My father passed from lung cancer when I was age 10. My mother passed from a bowel obstruction when I was 13. I bounced around living through my teenage years with different older siblings who were also finding their way and adjusting. I also attended the local Baptist church on my own without my siblings, and I began to build a personal relationship with God.
Three days after I turned age 18, I moved from Northern Kentucky to Lexington, KY to begin my college education and to live on my own. I struggled with college because I did not know what I really wanted to do, and my dreams to become an astronomer were squelched because I was told by my siblings that it would never happen, and I needed to be more practical in my career ambitions. I was on my own with no encouragement; I was doing something that my siblings in general thought was a waste of time in pursuing a college degree.
My freshman year of college did bear some good fruits. I was introduced by a caring girlfriend to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and with some resistance from my former church pastor, I joined the Church of Jesus Christ.
I finished my freshman year broke, and I decided to join the Army Reserve to support myself and what I hoped would be my future spouse. I took the opportunity to learn about electronic switching systems, and I was on active duty for training for most of the next year. While I was gone my fiancé and I did break up, but I remained a member of the church.
When I returned, I transferred college to Pikeville, and I finished my Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in management. It took everything I could earn and borrow to get through college and support myself, but I did it thanks to my growing faith in God that told me I could persevere.
I graduated during a recession, and I moved back to Northern Kentucky where I worked at gas stations, restaurants, and various other odd jobs just to pay for my little two room apartment in a less desirable part of town. I remained active with church even though I had no car and had to walk several miles just to attend.
During this period of time, I met that special person who became my eternal companion. We lived in that little two-bedroom apartment, until we could do better.
There is so much more to this story, and life was full of adversity, love, and Christ. When I lost my job last year, I felt inspired by God to start my own business to help others who struggled with tax debt and other inflictions.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Starting a business with limited resources is never easy. However, after a discussion from the bishop, I felt this was the right course of action. I had gained many skills from the variety of employment experiences and my certification in public accounting (CPA). Just when I feel there is no way to move forward, the right client would appear at the right time, or another piece would come in place that would allow me to take the business a little further such as a great deal for office space, and getting connected to the Chamber of Commerce so that I could advertise more effectively in the community. Faith has taught me to know that solutions will come if you are obedient to what the Lord wants you to do.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In my early career, I became a tax auditor with the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I learned a considerable amount about business and personal taxation. Later, after following some other pursuits which taught me more about health, mental health, and not-for-profit accounting, I finished the educational and examination requirements to become a CPA. I worked with a number of small accounting and tax firms which gave me an even greater understanding of small businesses and wearing many hats. One of the specialties that I learned along the way was how to work with the IRS to help someone who had a difficult tax burden. This tied into my personal experiences as a tax auditor, and I learned how to understand and negotiate agreements that would meet a need for both sides.
Although I do many of the traditional personal and business tax services found with other small firms, I feel a genuine interest in helping someone who has gotten off track with their taxes and creating a pathway back from their missed tax filings and accumulated tax debt. I am taking this further by not only getting them out of debt, but I try to help them find a path to prosper from my tax planning and consulting services to provide a way forward.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Treat people right! Although not everyone is honest or respects what you do, in the end, clients that follow you through the entire process gain a better understanding and respect. They become able to see the whole picture as they make strides through the process to improve their own circumstances.
Pricing:
- Pricing will depend upon the depth of services needed keeping in mind that we may working together for a few weeks to maybe up to a year to resolve a series of issues.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eaglemountaintaxresolution.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581262980509
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-rhoden-cpa-82a0b714
