Behind the Business with Marquita Eshun

Tax season is often the most dreadful time of the year for entrepreneurs. Combing meticulously through receipts and millions of tax forms is unpleasant at best. However, for serial entrepreneur Maquita Eshun, finance is her passion of choice. After her first time helping a business complete their yearly tax forms in 2012, which lead to a major return, Marquita realized there is wiggle room in the tax consulting market. “I realized that I helped change their financial position”, Marquita expressed in her interview with P2P’s Egypt Graham. Just as quickly as that thought crossed her mind, Marquita found herself on a path to success within entrepreneurship. 

ABOUT THE BUSINESS

Araba & Associates Financial Consulting LLC is one of multiple businesses Marquita has successfully launched; she also owns a hair salon, college café and private real estate investment company. Araba & Associates dives into the nitty gritty financial organization process with each of their clients, providing services such as tax planning, tax consultations, investment organization, capital positioning and more. After helping a few businesses through their tax return process, clients, friends and family members began spreading the word about Marquita’s hands-on tax filing services. The word spread like wildfire and Marquita soon found herself with a consistent clientele. Since her first year in business nearly 7 years ago, Marquita, along with a student intern and one employee, is now servicing a growing list of 52 clients every tax season. 

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

Tax expert Marquita credits relationships for the extraordinary success she has seen within her businesses. During her early days in corporate America, her path led her to her first mentor at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). “You can go so far” are the words of encouragement that have stuck with her since their time at the same company. At PwC, she learned the importance of building a firm foundation within your industry and establishing a powerful and well-respected reputation, a lesson she still applies every day. 

While she realizes the importance of relationships, Marquita still reflects on her early stages of entrepreneurship being lonely and often isolating. When asked to impart business advice for the next generation of entrepreneurs, Marquita states, “You need a strong network around you and a strong team”. As a business owner you must be able to lean on people, trust colleagues and delegate work. 

THE MENTALITY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

Despite Marquita’s success across multiple self-started businesses, she still finds herself succumb to every business owner’s kryptonite: doubt. A feeling familiar to many of us, Marquita has enacted her own habits and rituals to combat and triumph over this unsupportive thinking. “What’s the worst that can happen?”, is what this entrepreneur asks herself when entering into new, risky business endeavors. This question puts into perspective that the potential of a failed business will not affect her otherwise happy and healthy life.  She also utilizes positive mind conditioning activities like saying affirmations out loud in the morning, thinking optimistically and surrounding herself with positive people.“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is her favorite bible verse to remind herself of her ability to persevere through hard times.

JOURNEY TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Marquita describes her entrepreneurship experience in three words, Fulfilling, Perseverance and WORK. Like most entrepreneurs, this tax consultants desire for financial fulfillment began at a young age when she began selling her used books to fellow 4thgrade classmates for $1. As her entrepreneurial desires matured, she began aspiring to the success stories of Oprah, Tyler Perry, Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé. For Marquita, each of these public figures represented unapologetic talent, strong work ethic, diligence and monetization strategies for success, all characteristics she has embodied on her own unique journey of entrepreneurship.

You can learn more about Marquita and her business, Araba and Associates Financial Consulting, on her websiteand Instagram. 

ABOUT THE SERIES

“Behind the Business: Insights from the Everyday Entrepreneur” is a written interview series developed by the Planning 2 Perfection team. In each interview, we will explore the entrepreneurial journeys of everyday people turned self-starter and how they have been able to grow their business. Interviews will span across various industries to offer a wide array of advice, learning lessons and personal anecdotes.