Partnership begins in downturn
September 4, 2009 – from The News-Press, Ft. Myers, FL
A father and son are living out a dream and finding success with their small, Bonita Springs-based accounting firm.
BriersCPA was founded roughly two years ago by Tom and Mike Briers. Both men are Certified Public Accountants whose backgrounds include overseas stints as managers for American companies.
The company provides accounting and financial reporting, bookkeeping, financial planning, business growth planning and a host of other services to its clients. It logged gross revenues of about $175,000 in 2008, its first full year of operation. Gross revenues of roughly $250,000 are expected for this year.
Mike Briers, 39, was in the midst of a two-year assignment in Shanghai as Asian Corporate Controller for Springs Global when he began thinking about his next move. Working at the bed- and bathware company’s Charlotte headquarters was one option, but not one that truly appealed to him. “I thought, ‘You know what, there’s probably something better I can do,’” he said. “I thought, ‘Hey, let’s move to Florida and start a business, so we did.”
Before Mike Briers’ return to the States, he and his dad had already decided to start their own firm. “It seemed like it was a great opportunity to work together,” Mike Briers said. “We love what what we do. How great is it that we get to work together in such a wonderful place? Maybe we can build something together and maybe pass it along to the next generation at some point.”
When he and his wife Chandra arrived in Fort Myers in 2007, they had a support system in place in his parents, Tom and Joy of Bonita Springs, as well as his sister Rachel Bell and her family.
“This is a dream come true,” said Tom Briers, 62. “I never, never dreamed that at this stage of my career, that I’d have a chance to come together with Mike and create something.”
People and companies with roots in Southwest Florida comprise the bulk of the firm’s client list. However, the Brierses also have clients in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and other states.
Gulf States Electric in Naples has been a customer since November 2007, using BriersCPA for its accounting work, tax returns and more. “Mike’s a very personable guy,” said Gulf States President Marty Rogers. “He’s done a very professional job for me with any task I’ve given him.”
Mike Briers said he felt some trepidation about starting a new business while the economy sagged, but “I felt there was more risk in just jumping back into the corporate world.” He worried that going the corporate route could lead to becoming too comfortable to risk entrepreneurship.
The Brierses have been able to build their business through contacts Tom Briers has made since moving here full time in 2004 and those Mike has made through several networking groups and the chambers of commerce he’s joined. Positive word of mouth has also helped, they said. Dr. Brian Olitsky of Smile Design Enterprises in Naples and Smile Design by Dr. Brian M. Olitsky in Bonita Springs became a customer in 2007.
“They’re very prompt, they’re very detail oriented,” Olitsky said. “I get all the big accounting firm knowledge, with a small, family-business feel. It was really a good fit for my business because my practice is a very small practice with lots of personal attention, which is exactly what the Brierses give.”
Tom Briers said that that customer loyalty is much appreciated. “We love our clients,” Tom Briers said. “Our clients are what’s helped us grow. We had experience and we had credentials, but without them, we’d just be people with credentials but nothing to do.”
