She ditched her PhD program, and in less than three years, she built a 7-figure business

Shenaya Wilson is a 26-year-old entrepreneur and a certified public accountant (CPA). She started practice while interning at a big accounting firm in 2016 before securing a permanent role as an assurance associate. It was also during this period that she started a tax advisory firm as a side hustle.

However, her stay at her job was cut short when she got accepted to pursue a Ph.D. program. She was torn between her job and her Ph.D. program because her employers had her decide either to remain at post or quit to pursue her academic goal.

Eventually, Wilson decided on her Ph.D. program over her job. She was to study Accounting and Information Systems, which will equip her in the area of accounting technology, coding, machine learning, and cryptocurrency.

However, just two years into her program, she quit schooling to become a full-time entrepreneur because her firm, Fola Financial, was fast rising and gaining national success. She started Fola Financial as a side business while working with an accounting firm. Having become a full-time entrepreneur after leaving her Ph.D. program, she expanded her team at Fola Financial and reached the seven-figure revenue mark.

Her firm, Fola Financial, provides bookkeeping, tax preparation, tax planning, financial consulting, and business advisory services. However, her biggest ticket service is tax planning. According to her, it is her firm’s biggest revenue driver.

“Sometimes I randomly think…wow I really left a whole Ph.D. program halfway through just to focus on growing my business,” Wilson shared on LinkedIn. “Please never let a job title, a degree, or a person be the factor that stands in the at between you and pursuing your dream,” she advised aspiring entrepreneurs.

“Those things will always be there. But your time and opportunities are not so secure. You never know what is waiting for you on the other side. Be a risk-taker and do it with confidence,” she added.

According to Wilson, throughout her life, she has become accustomed to what people and society call ‘proper,’ adding that she is now what makes her feel proper. For her, letting go of her Ph.D. program to grow her business was absolutely proper in her heart.

Wilson has developed a tax training program dubbed Tax Essentials Learning Program (T.E.L.P) to train and share tips with others who want to be like her. 

Wilson, after quitting her job and her Ph.D. program, has impressively built a seven-figure firm in less than three years from the scratch. She has also expanded her team and through her TELP initiative, hired some of the bright learners.