Erica Benedict
Principal Consultant
BMS Financial
I founded BMS in 2016 after leaving a ten-year career in sales consulting for small businesses. I had a good time back then, but my true passion was always numbers and finance. To me, financial reporting is a lot of fun. I see it as a big puzzle, and I love puzzles. It's more rewarding than a New York Times Thursday crossword though since the answers translate into concepts that businesses can use.
Even though I was working full-time, I continued my education in accounting and finance and got my BBS in Finance from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.
Once I graduated, I wanted a change of career. There were possibilities in banking and financial management, but nothing that would have matched what I was doing. I ended up staying in sales and taking post-grad courses in accounting while I decided what to do. My career goals did not include becoming a CPA at a big 4 firm on an underpaid, overworked schedule, hoping to move up the ladder. While accounting is great, I enjoy my life outside of work, and I did not want to give it up for work.
Because we had clients in common, I often partnered with CPA firms at work. But quickly I realized two things:
Accountants have a tough time talking to people outside of their world.
Most business owners consider CPAs to be the tax guy who could offer little else to their company.
No matter the reason, most believed the relationship was little more than just a necessary evil. Across the board, they all appeared to be looking for the same thing: someone to help handle both the day-to-day and the large matters at a reasonable cost. The problem was, they couldn't find anyone.
It was at some point that the light bulb went off for me. I love this stuff, have the education to do it, and have a real passion for helping small businesses. Starting my own company was the perfect next step for me. It gave me the chance to work with both people and numbers! And so, that is what I did. I became a financial consultant. It wasn't easy when I was a newbie and I did have to work hard. But now I get to do something I love.
Every day I'm thankful for it more and more. Originally from Houston, I now live in Austin, Texas. No matter how much time I spend at work, I prefer to work to live rather than the other way around. In my downtime, when I'm not nerding out on financial reports (seriously), I like to travel, enjoy live music and nature, or spend time at home with my personal interests: music, piano, gardening, hiking, and boxing.
Thank you for reading. Shoot me a message if you think we can work together.
With peace, love, and gratitude,
Erica