Entrepreneurship Stories: Black Business Month Series – Victoria Stanton of Breakaway Bookkeeping & Advising North ATL
Entrepreneurship Stories: Black Business Month Series Q&A Featuring Victoria Stanton of Breakaway Bookkeeping & Advising North ATL
August is Black Business Month in the U.S., and to celebrate, COED will be featuring black-owned businesses of Cherokee County all month long.
This week we’ll hear from Victoria Stanton, Franchisee of Breakaway Bookkeeping & Advising North ATL. Victoria, a Long Island native, moved to Georgia in October 2019. A true entrepreneur at heart, Victoria is part-owner of Audacity Marketing and has joined the Breakaway Franchise. At Breakaway, Victoria blends her sharp financial acumen with a cheerful, can-do attitude.
Tell us what inspired you to start your business?
I was already working part time helping people with taxes, assisting other business owners that I knew. I was working full time in finance as well. The pandemic actually pushed me over the edge. I was teetering between the scare of taking that leap and the comfort of having a nine to five.
Once COVID happened and we were home, it was very chaotic trying to manage my day-to-day with my regular job. I thought, “There has to be a better way.” It just so happened my company decided to lay a bunch of people off and I was included. So, I decided, “What better time than the present?”
How has being in Cherokee County helped grow your business?
I would say Cherokee County is really unique, the business community specifically is really close and we support one another.
Once I decided to take the leap and I got a few clients, word of mouth became a big help. If you’re present in the community and active, people will get to know you and then refer people to your business. The relationships have been really, really instrumental in growing locally in Cherokee County.
Everyone is so willing to support other local business owners.
What advice would you give to other small businesses who are wanting to grow/scale their business?
Do it. Definitely be smart about it because it has its ups and downs, but I wish I would have done it sooner. I wish I wasn’t as afraid to take the leap.
How can we as a community best support you now and in the future?
That’s a loaded question. Stay the way you are, in the sense of being open and being a vibrant community. Not only other business owners, but the local people here really supportive.
We need to continue that movement of support.
Can you tell me about what services you offer?
Breakaway Bookkeeping and Advising is a firm that supports small businesses in helping them with their bookkeeping needs, like payroll. If they require someone outsourced to be at CFO, we provide that service, as well as business consulting.
We help them to understand their business financials, help them make certain decisions about the company’s operations.
How has the Circuit Woodstock impacted your business?
It got me out of the house, which was really hard to do at the time. It’s hard when you work remotely to get out there. Once I started working from the Circuit, I started meeting my clients more often in person. Then in turn, meeting new people and being introduced to a lot of people.
It’s been really helpful in growing my local presence, and also meeting other individuals.
Be sure to check out Victoria on LinkedIn and follow Breakaway Bookkeeping on Facebook and Instagram.