Your Accountant - Ryan Paige

I'm going to tell a story, and it's going to be rambling and long. But that's just how I write: I've been a writer my whole life... well, probably not so much back in the beginning before I could hold a crayon or even speak words, let alone write them, but ever since then writing is what I wanted to do and what I did.

I had some success here and there. Made it into the Writers Guild of America and everything. I tried making some indie films, and I self published a couple of books that I think are entertaining even if my own mother could only bring herself to give my novel 4 out of 5 stars in her Amazon review. But I was never brave enough to really shoot my shot. I didn't believe in myself enough to take chances - to make phone calls, to make sure I was heard. To do whatever it took to get my work in the hands of those who could take my work and turn it into a movie or hire me to write on a TV show or to publish one of my books. Or at least pay me enough to earn a continued living with my work.

So like nine years ago, I went back to school and got my Masters degree in Accounting. I had studied accounting in high school and early college, so accounting isn't as weird as it seems. Since then I've been preparing taxes for several hundred people per year. I've gone from working for a CPA firm that was based in the CPA's duplex living room to preparing taxes for a lot of doctors and dentists at a firm in Richardson. And I was working at a CPA firm in Rockwall for the last five years and was very happy there until my boss passed away and I was ultimately fired, they claim because of a Tweet I made saying how many tax returns I had prepared that year, and I know I made some dumb mistakes here and there that had to be picked up in our review process as does everyone, but far more often than not, I did a very good job. Clients liked me. Coworkers tolerated me and envied my office decorating skills. So, I think there were other reasons that discretion and decorum prevent me from mentioning that went into the decision to toss me out on the street, but I guess that's really neither here nor there.

But anyway, being fired quickly reminded me how much it sucks to have your livelihood under someone else's control. Not only does one's labor often go under-appreciated and under-compensated, but it can all be taken away in a millisecond based on someone else taking offense at something an employee may not even realize is anything but innocuous and perfectly acceptable to everyone. Losing that control over one's life, over one's ability to provide for one's family. Having someone else have that much control over whether we'll have to sell our cars or our house to keep from starving to death. Maybe having to dip into retirement accounts or college funds just to keep ends meeting while you go around trying to get someone else to put you in the very same position of having someone else have so much control over your life and your future. It's not the first time it's happened to me, and it's super scary each time. But this time I decided I would try something a bit different. I've started my own tax firm.

I almost wish my story of getting fired was more exciting. Like some dramatic Jerry Maguire moment where I wrote some amazing memo that my bosses hated, and I spent my last day on the phone trying to get just one client to stick with me by showing him the money. But it wasn't like that at all. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even in the office. I was at a doctor's appointment for my youngest kid when I got the call. It will not make for an epically memorable scene in a Cameron Crowe movie regardless, but at least I didn't cry in front of the doctor. I waited until we were in the hallway.

My background as a writer and in the entertainment industry has given me a wide breadth of practical knowledge in preparing tax returns for people and companies in the performing arts, but I also have extensive experience with people and businesses in just about every field you can imagine. From doctors and dentists to retired folks with farms to construction businesses to teachers to ministers and everyone in between. And because I understand how the financial struggle can be super-real, my rates are very reasonable. And I've deleted my twitter account, so you don't have to worry about that coming up again. Anyway, you need to file your taxes. You can do it yourself. You can go to H&R Block (though my rates are very competitive with theirs) or some place like that. You can go to that guy who goes by 'Uncle Louie' who runs Louie's Tax Preparation in Bait Shop up in Lavon. Or you can come to me at the very creatively named Paige Tax Advisors, and I will take care of your tax-related needs. And I promise to only cry in the hallway.

If you've read this far, and you're still curious for more: I have lived in Wylie for almost twenty years now with my wife, who is a special education teacher and a Wylie High School graduate. We have two children together, a daughter Molly and a son Noah, and I have two grown sons from my previous marriage and misspent youth. Tyler, the older but shorter one, lives in the Metroplex while Preston, the younger but taller one, still lives in Amarillo, where I grew up.

I earned a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of Dallas and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M-Commerce. I also have a Master of Science in Management and a Master of Science in Marketing from Texas A&M-Commerce because when you hang around long enough, they just start giving you degrees to encourage you to leave. My Bachelor of Arts is in Advertising, weirdly enough, from the University of Texas at Arlington. 

My Dad was an anesthesiologist in Amarillo for several decades and still lives there. My mother is a retired college librarian (Ouachita Baptist) and some-time professor. She aspired to get her PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Connecticut, a quest that caused her to move hundreds of miles away from me when I was like 11, but she didn't finish her dissertation. She lives in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas now.

I have a half-sister who is appropriately married to a psychiatrist, and I have two half-brothers, which I believe makes one full brother. The older of the two brothers trains and sells horses in Amarillo, and the younger is a musician. Interesting fact: The four of us have never been in the same room together at the same time. I was 11 when my half-sister was born, and I was in college when the half-brothers were born. But they seem nice, and Clarke (the youngest) has taken very good care of my father now that my father is retired.

I failed to mention that my wife and kids and I have some pets. There's a picture of our dog Augie to the left there. She's named after Auguste Escoffier and is a Berger Picard mix of some sort (adopted from Dallas Animal Services shelter). We also have Kermit (adopted from Operation Kindness), a Chiweenie, and Mae Mae (adopted from a shelter in Fort Worth), some sort of Australian Shepherd mix, who is named after the month we adopted her - July.

We have a lot of cats, too. 

I know it may seem like I'm taking a flippant approach to something as serious as taxes, but I believe that if I am asking you to trust me to prepare and file your tax return, it's important that you know me as much as you can.

I am in the tax business not only because it's more secure than trying to get people to pay big money for my writing but also because I like to help people, and preparing their taxes is how I can apply my knowledge and skills to helping people. Taxes can be very scary for a lot of people. They seem dense and the IRS seems unforgiving and the rules are always changing. I am here to help. To make it less scary. To reassure you that there's someone who has the experience and know-how to get you through the process each year as painlessly as possible. I am here to help.

So that's me. If you've made it this far and are interested in seeing how I can help you, shoot me an email at ryan@paigetaxadvisors.com.