‘We provide our customers with high quality, best-in-class business and tax services, personalized for their unique needs’: Tracy L. Tate, CEO of TLJ Professional Services, Inc.,

“As the CEO, I strive to ensure every client receives customized support services.”

Tracy L. Tate, CEO of TLJ Professional Services, Inc., has been in the accounting profession for over 35 years. She specializes in Accounts Payable and has held various positions, including Director of Accounts Payable at Digital Realty Trust, a three Billion dollar REIT, before pursuing her entrepreneurship journey. She’s an IRS Registered Tax Return Preparer (RTRP) and CA CTEC Tax Preparer.

Tracy obtained her CA life license, 0K47275, in insurance in 2015 and added TX and IL life licenses in 2016. She is a distributor of products for Transamerica, Nationwide, Everest and Gerber, to name a few. Tracy added health insurance and annuities to her profile to ensure all families have proper protection and can leave a financial legacy for their loved ones. Tracy is currently licensed in CA, TX, IL, NV and MD, National Insurance Registration #17716648.

Tracy is a volunteer member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Oakland Bay Area chapter, where she served as the Chair of the Budget & Finance committee before becoming the Financial Secretary of the chapter in 2019.

She is a native of San Francisco’s Bayview District. She received her education at Lowell High School in 1987; obtained her AA Degree from Heald Business College in 1991; BA Degree in Business in 2005 from the University of Phoenix; MBA Accounting & MBA Public Administration in 2007 from the University of Phoenix and obtained a Master’s Certification in Accounting from Keller Graduate School in 2016. Tracy also has an Accounts Payable Manager (APM) certification from the Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM).

As a sole proprietor, she started Tracy Tate Bookkeeping in 2003. Later, in 2014, Tracy Tate Bookkeeping was rebranded as TLJ Professional Services, Inc. TLJ provides bookkeeping and accounting services for small businesses and entrepreneurs, tax preparation services for individual returns since 1990, and sole proprietorship returns since 2000 and small businesses (S&C Corps) returns since 2010. The company offers competitive flat rates and tailored packages to suit its customers’ business needs.

TLJ has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is classified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE).

The Silicon Review reached out to TLJ’s Bay Area headquarters and spoke with Tracy L. Tate, who serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Here’s what she said.

Interview Highlights

Tracy Tate, CEO of TLJ Professional Services Inc is the design and creative force behind the company’s products and services. Kindly discuss some of her qualities which have transformed the organization.

As the CEO, I strive to ensure every client receives customized support services. Every business is unique so we look at that uniqueness in designing personalized plans.

Q. How is Tracy Tate inspiring and empowering women entrepreneurs across industries into becoming great leaders of tomorrow?

I lead by example. There is nothing we can’t do when we put cautious efforts and actions in place to achieve dreams and goals.

Q. You have traveled across the world to observe, listen, experience, and be transformed. How are you in turn catalyzing sustainable changes via your experience?

Each one teaches one. I share my experiences not just to motivate, but also to inspire those with desires to achieve and never give up.

Q. Who is Tracy’s role model & how has the individual inspired her to culminate into an inspiring leader?

My great-grandmother has always been my inspiration. To hear my family and friends say how much I remind them of her is truly an honor.

Q. Why was ‎‎ TLJ Professional Services Inc born? What are the market pain points you wanted to address through the inception of the company?

As a tax professional and accountant, numbers speak volumes. We come in to make our clients understand what their numbers mean and guide them on how to stay at the forefront.

Q. How are you committed to helping individuals and businesses with their financial needs? What are the services you have to offer?

We offer various financial services, including bookkeeping, accounting, taxes and other business services. We are ‘About All Things Financial’.

Q. We would be happy if you could share a case study featuring one of your satisfied clients. We want to know what problems did they face and after the implementation of your solution, what were the benefits they received?

I have a restaurant client that was not well informed about financial numbers. They were making good sales but not great profits. Upon implementing their accounting systems and tracking their spending, we were able to change their profitability by over 20 percent.

Q. Where do you see TLJ Professional Services Inc in the near future?

TLJ Professional Services, Inc. is here to stay. We want to continue working with small business owners and entrepreneurs to ensure they have a solid foundation in their business endeavors.

Q. Is there anything more you would like to add or highlight? Any other interesting insight you would like us to talk about in the story that we may have missed in this questionnaire?

I want to leave the aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners with this — take it one day at a time, one step at a time, but never stop stepping.

“We want to continue working with small business owners and entrepreneurs to ensure they have a solid foundation in their business endeavors.”