Like many entrepreneurs, Elizabeth Hale is a doer.
“I have a passion for solving problems and I’m good at explaining things,” says Hale, CEO and founder of Scottsdale-based accounting and consulting firm eeCPA. “I feel a huge sense of responsibility and commitment to my clients, and I want to do everything I can to take care of things for them.”
And like the entrepreneur she is, Hale has been doing for much of her life — whether launching her first venture selling greeting cards door to door at just eight years old or hustling at her dad’s restaurant in high school.
“I worked my butt off doing everything from mopping the floors to bartending to accounting,” she says. “I grew used to that freedom of doing the work the way I wanted it done.”
Ever since, Hale has relished that flexibility in how to do business that’s at the core of entrepreneurialism.
That experience informed how she built her career, running various businesses such as a pest control firm and a wholesale distribution center, to launching eeCPA in 2004.
“I much prefer having the freedom and creativity to take care of clients and employees the way I want and not have someone to squash it or have to go through layers of corporate red tape,” she says.
Impediment to Business Growth
With eeCPA, Hale has spent the past 19 years helping entrepreneurs and unconventional businesses achieve their goals. When she started the business, she approached it the same way she had her previous ventures: directly engaging with the work and doing things herself.
“It took me a while to recognize that approach was a huge impediment to business growth,” she says. “I was fully engaged with my clients and the work. But I needed to be better engaged with my employees.”
After dedicating several years to her business, Hale became set in her “doer” mentality and approach. While she recognizes that she could have done better in training her employees, she admits that she grew frustrated when their results did not meet her high standards.
Hale’s realization that she needed to make changes in her approach came after reading some unfavorable reviews on Glassdoor, an anonymous company review platform.
Although some of the comments were harsh and unfair, she was shocked and deeply affected by them. This served as a turning point for her, and she realized that seeking assistance was necessary to improve the situation.
That assistance came in the form of a recommendation from a client that Hale explore Entrepreneurs’ Organization, the global support network that helps entrepreneurs achieve their goals.
EO provided Hale a place she could be vulnerable about her struggles, seek out counsel from like-minded entrepreneurs who faced similar challenges and explore how she could make things better for herself and her employees.
“My EO group was truly life-changing,” she says. “They showed me that I wasn’t alone and helped me begin to improve my leadership and delegation skills.”
From Doer to Mentor
With the lessons, resources and tools gained from EO, Hale began implementing changes in her business to support and engage with her team the same way she had been engaging with her clients for so many years.
“Little by little, I made changes, intentionally focusing on mentorship and empowering my team,” she says.
Last year was a testament to Hale’s growth and focus on leadership. In 2022, the company grew top-line revenue by 47% from 2021 and increased its employee count by 50%.
With powerful motivators, including up to 20% salary bonuses, company trips and more, Hale creates a supportive environment that fuels employees’ drive to succeed.
The collaboration, team building and camaraderie evident at eeCPA is a testament to the investment Hale has made in herself and her approach to improving workplace culture, cultivating a workplace that gives employees a hands-on role in changing client outcomes, seizing bigger opportunities with upward mobility and advancing in the industry.
Rather than insist on doing everything herself, Hale actively mentors her employees, helping each find their fit and where they can excel. They meet regularly to discuss what the employee wants to achieve and how Hale can help make it happen.
“Empowering others is the key to unlocking your business’s true potential,” Hale says. “When you invest in and empower your team, not only do you cultivate a culture of growth and collaboration, but you also create limitless opportunities for success and achievement across the board.”
At a Glance
Company: eeCPA
President: Elizabeth Hale, CPA
Headquarters: Scottsdale
Employees: 16
Who They Are: Founded in 2004, eeCPA is a tax, accounting and business consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs and high-net-worth investors achieve transformational growth. From fully managing back offices to devising creative tax strategies, eeCPA serves as an extension of clients’ teams. Experts are known for demystifying complex financial challenges, guiding business transitions and identifying opportunities for expansion.
Elizabeth Hale’s latest passion project is Start Savvy, a nonprofit she founded to help youth ages 12–18 develop critical business skills to put them on a path to future success. She organizes workshops covering personal finance topics, including distinguishing between needs and wants, how to live on minimum wage and how to save money, recruiting local entrepreneurs to teach them.
