Business Spotlight: Carey Business Solutions
Bianca Carey is the CEO and co-founder of Carey Business Solutions and TaxBee. Based in Pearland, Carey Business Solutions and its tax component TaxBee offer accounting, CFO, and tax preparation services to local businesses.
At 16, Carey began working with the city of Franklin, Louisiana, through the business program at her high school. Through her work, she met Raymond Harris, then CFO of Franklin, who became her mentor. After Carey graduated college, Harris suggested she work for him on his mayoral campaign. Carey agreed and began her work as an Accounts Payable Manager. After Harris won the election, she assisted the CFO of Franklin. Not long after, she became the youngest ever CFO of Franklin at 24.
But Carey didn’t stop there. While working as CFO, she did bookkeeping work and prepared tax returns for her family on the side. In 2011, she moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, to work as the city’s budget manager. In 2012, she decided to step away from politics and moved to Houston to work as a Senior Accountant for AIG. A year later, she met and married her husband, Carris Carey, who encouraged her to take her accounting and tax skills and start her own business. Thus, Carey Business Solutions was established.
Carey and her husband were both working full time while running Carey Business Solutions.
“The growth phase of my business was a maturation process. It was slow and steady,”
Carey says. Slowly and steadily, the business grew large enough that in 2014, Carey, her husband, and their son moved to Pearland and decided to house their business outside the family home. Hurricane Harvey delayed the project for over a year, but Carey Business Solutions eventually had a new home.
During this time, the tax service component of Carey Business Solutions began to grow. “I am known as Bee,” Carey says. “Everyone says, ‘You know; you should let Bee do your taxes. Do you know Bee, the girl that does taxes. Tax Bee.’” Thus TaxBee came to life.
After AIG, Carey worked for Gentix Health and then Rice University. In 2020, she was working at Rice as an accounting liaison, implementing a new accounting system, and had the opportunity to teach a government and non-profit accounting class. When the pandemic hit in March, Carey was furloughed from Rice. But Carey turned a negative into a positive and decided to work on Carey Business Solutions full-time.
“That was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was able to take all of my ideas and everything I had learned along the way and really execute them.”
The business has grown tremendously since then. Carey Business Solutions went from 16 monthly accounting clients and 200 tax clients to 58 monthly clients and 380 tax clients and counting. Carey was also able to add three employees to the business. In December 2019, Carey published Plan a Wealthy Life, which incorporates her keys to financial success into a planner.
Carey’s favorite aspect of her business is working with her clients on tax resolution. At the heart of it all is the need for information. “Everybody needs more information, better information, and truthful information,” Carey says. With tax season right around the corner, the need for information is high. When it comes to looking for a potential tax preparer, here are
Carey’s top 5 questions you should ask:
1. How do you price your services?
Carey advises to beware of scammers who try to charge large fees to those inexperienced with using a tax preparer and unaware of how much tax services typically cost.
2. Are you up to date on the changes in tax laws?
Be sure that your preparer knows all the laws relevant to your business so you can file your taxes correctly.
3. How will you help me in the case of an audit?
“I stand totally next to my clients,” Carey says. You want to ensure that if you go through a surprise audit, your preparer will help you through the process.
4. How do I find you when tax season is over?
In case of an audit or another issue, you want to be able to contact your preparer. Be careful with preparers who are only reachable during tax season and not the remainder of the year.
In case of an audit or another issue, you want to be able to contact your preparer. Be careful with preparers who are only reachable during tax season and not the remainder of the year.
5. What is your experience and education?
This question is crucial for businesses that may have complicated tax returns. You want to ensure that your preparer’s experience and knowledge lines up with your needs. Carey notes, “Anyone can say, ‘I can get you a certain refund amount back,’ but how will you get that amount back? Let me know what tax-saving strategy that you can offer to me.”
This question is crucial for businesses that may have complicated tax returns. You want to ensure that your preparer’s experience and knowledge lines up with your needs. Carey notes, “Anyone can say, ‘I can get you a certain refund amount back,’ but how will you get that amount back? Let me know what tax-saving strategy that you can offer to me.”
Carey is also passionate about helping new businesses set themselves up for success. “If you come to me with a dream, we’re going to execute it,” she says.
When it comes to starting a business, Carey has four top tips:
- Be serious about it.
- Have and execute a plan.
- Understand and learn the language of your business.
- Do it and do it the right way, so you don’t have to go back and do it over again.
Carey recommends having an accountant, attorney, and marketer on your team to get things going. She also stresses the importance of managing your finances, particularly when it comes to taxes. “I’m of the notion to tell the IRS everything. You do not want to hide anything from them.” There are tax preparers who will advise you to illegally keep information off your taxes to get a larger return. Instead, Carey holds that “operating in integrity and compliance will get you far further.” Overall, Carey’s advice can be summed up in one sentence.
“Build it so you can keep it.”
While advising other business owners, Carey is also working on expanding her own business. “My future goals for TaxBee are far greater than just this,” she says. “It’s creating a network of tax companies. That idea is out there, and I’m actively working on it.”
To learn more about Bianca Carey and Carey Business Solutions, visit her website.
