1. A Full-Service CPA
QuickBooks can get the job done. An accountant who actually knows the ins and outs of your specific business is better. Kate Sonders Solomon, a Dobbs Ferry-based cooking class entrepreneur, uses both—and credits her CPA, Melita Love, with revolutionizing her finances. “She’s sort of a little more full service than your average CPA and gives a lot of great business advice,” she says. Before making the switch, Solomon was managing her own books in a spreadsheet. “Melita totally transformed my accounting,” she says. “There was a lot of stuff not being processed correctly.” For Rye-based landscape designer Susan Drouin of Fairspring LLC, the answer was women-owned accounting firm DiLeo & Charles. “Sabrina Ciarlegio’s team has been a lifesaver,” she says. Bottom line: the right CPA pays for herself.
2. Professional Headshots
Your headshot is often the first impression a potential client gets. A bad quality or obviously outdated one can do real damage. Solomon has been using the same photos, taken by Dobbs Ferry photographer Doug Schneider, for nearly a decade. “He did my headshots was when I was 40, and I’m 48 now,” she says. “But they’re so good. I look remarkably the same.” Schneider’s advice at the time stuck with her: “He said, ‘You’ll thank me in 10 years when you can still use these.’” His philosophy, capturing the natural version of you rather than an airbrushed one, is why the photos have held up so well. Other photographers worth knowing about: Lewisboro-based Daniel Shapiro, Port Chester-based Heather Ward Tietjen, Rye-based Jo Bryan, and Carolyn Simpson in Chappaqua.
3. SEO
Social media gets all the attention, but search engine optimization is often where the real return on investment lives, especially for service-based businesses that depend on local discovery. Solomon hired Meredith McBride of Indigo Digital Marketing & Co., who reworked her website from the ground up. “They completely overhauled my site with keywords and language, and were so attentive to how I wanted to sound and what my needs were,” she says. The results were inarguable: Her business has doubled. For small biz owners weighing hiring out for SEO versus, say, a social media manager, Solomon’s experience offers a clear case for prioritizing search first.
4. A Graphic Designer
In our content-driven world, the way your brand looks matters; DIY in Canva only gets you so far. New Rochelle-based jewelry designer Melissa Panszi Riebe of A D’Zine puts it plainly: “As a solopreneur I constantly debate what is worth money and what I need to do myself. I have found a great ROI on photography and video, especially for lifestyle and certain business moments.” For graphic design specifically, she works with Eric Neuner, a Mount Vernon-based designer who runs a small creative studio collective called neuNERDesign; it’s a local option worth investigating for branding, logos, and marketing materials.
Related: Turning Social Media Into a Career: Where to Study in Westchester
