Jasmine S. Young is the founder & CEO of Southern Tax Preparation & Services, an accounting firm she established in 2014 in efforts to spread financial literacy around the globe one strategy at a time. A certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner, she has 7 years of experience providing clients, both individuals and businesses, with tax, bookkeeping, financial consulting, estate planning, and various other financial solutions. Jasmine also has 10 years of experience in government accounting having served as an auditor for three different government agencies. Southern Tax offers a variety of accounting solutions across several industries including, but not limited to the service, trucking, and sports and entertainment industries. As one of the Global Conference for Insurance and Finance’s 2020 Top 100 Global Leaders in Finance, Jasmine empowers all she encounters to establish and build generational wealth.
Why is your business a business to watch in 2021?
Southern Tax is changing the way the world views their personal and business finances not just because we want to make a profit, but because we want to make a difference in people’s lives and we want them to experience the financial freedom that everyone has the right to experience.
What inspired your to start your business?
I wanted to be the resource for everyday people to assist them in establishing and maintaining generational wealth.
How did 2020 change your business? Was it for the better?
2020 actually catapulted my business. In the midst of COVID-19, many were looking for financial advice, and because I was in place and ready, I was able to be the resource people needed.
What lessons did you learn in your business in 2020?
I learned that if you do the work the work to be prepared to serve, the opportunities to serve will chase you down!
What kind of impact do you want your business to leave on your client or customer?
I want to change the financial trajectory of every customer I come into contact with for generations to come. If they don’t have wealth, I want to help them establish it, and if they do have wealth, I want to help them maintain it and protect it.
Do you feel your product or service meets the needs of the market?
Yes. Many struggle in the areas of their finances. That holds true even more now during a global pandemic. Our products and services aren’t just products and services. They are educational resources to help individuals and businesses better understand their finances so that they can achieve financial freedom.
What hurdles did you personally face in getting ready to open your business and how did you overcome them?
Not many in my community know what a certified public accountant is, what we do, and why they need one. A challenge I face and continue to face is getting people to see the value having a CPA and how having a trusted advisor can help change their lives financially. To overcome this challenge, I take my time in explaining what it is I do and why I care so much about their financial health. I’ve learned that people don’t buy services. They buy you, but they don’t buy you until they know you care, and that’s how I overcome the challenge. I care!
When did you realize entrepreneurship was right for you?
I realized it in high school. In high school, I was one of three co-captains of my high school basketball team. The captains got to pick the uniforms for the team for the school year. As I sat with my co-captains looking through catalogs, I made the statement that whatever they picked for the team was fine with me and to just let me know how much we have to pay. One of the co-captains responded saying “well everyone isn’t fed with a silver spoon like you, Jasmine.” This comment upset me because I didn’t feel like I was privileged or fed with a silver spoon. I came from a home where my parents taught me by example that financial literacy is the key to living a financially healthy and free life. My parents worked hard, consistently strived to learn as much as they could about the things they didn’t know related to financial literacy, and held each other accountable for the household’s finances and their spending habits. As a result, it appeared to my peers that I was receiving something that others were not. However, I realized this perception only existed because many around me were experiencing a life of adversity and poverty, weren’t receiving the basic foundation about finances that I was receiving at home, and it was their experience that birthed the perception that anyone who did not appear to be experiencing life as they were were, in fact, being “fed with a silver spoon.” Although initially infuriated by the perception, I chose to use it as my motivation to feed my community and all those I with this same “silver spoon” – the silver spoon of hard work, education, and accountability that I was fed by my parents. I used what was meant to be a negative connotation as the fuel for my desire to become a certified public accountant. That desire manifested into Southern Tax Preparation & Services.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship?
I chose entrepreneurship because I love helping people. It always gives me joy to see other people happy, and if I can be a part of helping to make them happy, I can and I do.
What would you say is your most driving motivation to keep doing what you do?
My family is my motivation. I want to give them the life that none of us have ever had. I want to change the financial trajectory of my family and set my family up for generations to come. That goal alone is enough for me to keep going.
What are you most excited or passionate about? (In both business and life or both)
I’m most excited about just being able to help people. As a child, I always heard people say that I was so helpful. As I grew up, I have kept that same trait, and it brings me joy to see other people happy and getting what they want and need in life.
What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your business? What are the goals that you hold personally?
I want my business to be a global brand. Ultimately, my goal is to have a global chain of accounting firms, change the financial trajectory of my family, and rebuild Black Wall Street.
Did you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life? Tell me about them.
My parents. At a young age, they set the example for my brother and I as it relates to finances. We watched them work hard, hold each other accountable for the family finances, and educate themselves on the things they didn’t know so that they could provide a better life for us. I took those same characteristics and embedded them in the culture of my company, and called it the “Silver Spoon Promise,” meaning that all that come into contact with Southern Tax will be fed with the same “silver spoon” my parents fed me with, which was hard work, accountability, and education.
Did you have any life-changing experiences that put you on the path that led you to be doing what you’re doing today? Tell me about them.
In high school, I was one of three co-captains of my high school basketball team. The captains got to pick the uniforms for the team for the school year. As I sat with my co-captains looking through catalogs, I made the statement that whatever they picked for the team was fine with me and to just let me know how much we have to pay. One of the co-captains responded saying “well everyone isn’t fed with a silver spoon like you, Jasmine.” This comment upset me because I didn’t feel like I was privileged or fed with a silver spoon. I came from a home where my parents taught me by example that financial literacy is the key to living a financially healthy and free life. My parents worked hard, consistently strived to learn as much as they could about the things they didn’t know related to financial literacy, and held each other accountable for the household’s finances and their spending habits. As a result, it appeared to my peers that I was receiving something that others were not. However, I realized this perception only existed because many around me were experiencing a life of adversity and poverty, weren’t receiving the basic foundation about finances that I was receiving at home, and it was their experience that birthed the perception that anyone who did not appear to be experiencing life as they were were, in fact, being “fed with a silver spoon.” Although initially infuriated by the perception, I chose to use it as my motivation to feed my community and all those I with this same “silver spoon” – the silver spoon of hard work, education, and accountability that I was fed by my parents. I used what was meant to be a negative connotation as the fuel for my desire to become a certified public accountant. That desire manifested into Southern Tax Preparation & Services.
What’s next for you in your business/brand? What can readers look forward to from you?
Southern Tax is hosting a business expo called Black Wall Street in Atlanta, GA on Juneteenth (June 19, 2021) to showcase different small businesses, commemorate and pay homage to our ancestors, and discuss how we as a community, can revive the spirit of Black Wall Street and close the wealth gap between African Americans and our counterparts.
