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Boardman Accounting Firm Marks 25 Years in Business
BOARDMAN, Ohio -- When his boss shared his plans to retire in 1989, Boardman accountant Nick Moga decided to start his own accounting business -- even though he had lived in the Youngstown area for only three years.
This month, Moga is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his firm, Small Business Accounting LLC, which he still operates from his home on Hitchcock Road.
“The first several years were tough because I spent a lot of time cold-calling local businesses,” Moga recalled. “But eventually I came to realize there was plenty of opportunity here locally and plenty of opportunity to serve organizations in other areas. I feel very blessed.”
Small Business Accounting now has three full-time employees besides Moga and serves clients in six states with payroll, financial statement and tax services. His clients include businesses with more than $1 million in annual revenue, smaller businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals who need personal tax returns.
To celebrate SBA’s 25 years, Moga will present a $2,500 check Nov. 3 to the Big Reach Center of Hope in Greenford, a regional food and clothing center where he and his wife, Nancy Moga, do volunteer work. The check represents $100 for each of Moga’s 25 years in business.
“This is a small way for us to give back to a community that has been very good to me and my family,” Moga said. “We’ve personally witnessed the tremendous work the Big Reach does in providing food, clothing and household appliances to people in need. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate 25 years in business.”
Moga did not grow up as an accountant, nor as a Youngstowner. He was born and reared in Detroit and worked in sales management in New Jersey for Dow Jones & Co., publishers of the Wall Street Journal. He also spent 12 years as general manager of Court Control, Inc., a chain of fitness centers in the Washington, D.C., area.
In 1986, when their youngest son was in kindergarten, the Mogas decided to move to Nancy’s hometown, Boardman. Moga took an accounting job here with Comprehensive Accounting, led by Scott Campman, whom he considers his mentor.
When Campman retired in 1989, Moga left Comprehensive and set up SBA. He quickly developed a reputation for helping startups set up their businesses, but also served other accounting needs.
“During the first couple years I routinely worked 90 to 100 hours a week to pay the bills and keep the business afloat,” Moga said. “I would spend my days cold-calling and then work on taxes and financial statements at night. Money was tight, so I worked out of a spare room in my home.
“That has worked out so well that I still run the business out of my home. Fortunately, the office has a separate entrance and a big enough parking lot so that parking isn’t a problem.”
The firm’s first two clients -- Foster Pattern Works in Columbiana and Elmo Tire Co. in Youngstown -- remain his clients after 25 years. Still with SBA for more than 20 years are Outdoor Maintenance, Posh Places, Audio Extreme and Roman Insurance Agency, all in the Boardman area. The firm’s clientele is diverse, ranging from Ohio franchisees of Handel’s Ice Cream and Frullati Café & Bakery to a Wyoming orthopedic surgeon.
Moga is a member of the National Society of Accountants and the Mahoning Valley Accounting Society and the National Society of Accountants. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran, having served as a paramedic from 1961 to 1965. He and Nancy have three children and five grandchildren.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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