Exploring Life & Business with Rachana Agarwal of Aviar Financials PC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachana Agarwal.

Hi Rachana, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my journey with others. As you already mentioned, my name is Rachana Agarwal. I am married to Amit Agarwal for last 22 years. I am mother of two beautiful children, Avi and Ashi. Avi is a freshman at Northeastern University and Ashi is a freshman at Ravenwood High School. I am a Certified Public Accountant and I am the owner/founder of Aviar Financials, a CPA firm based in Brentwood. Other than being a mother, wife and an entrepreneur, I am also a 4th Degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. 

How did I get here? As you can guess from my name, I am not from around here. I grew up in Calcutta, India: The City of Joy – famous for Mother Teresa, Rabindranath Tagore, and Swami Vivekananda. I was born in a very conservative Hindu family, where girls married young, had kids, and took care of the family.  I married the love of my life, and that brought me to Iowa City, Iowa. I was always a good student and found my calling at University of Iowa, studying accounting. Soon after I graduated, I completed my CPA and went to work for a local accounting firm in Davenport, Iowa. Life was good, I was living the American dream, had a loving family and a great job, but something was still lacking. From an early age, I knew I was destined for more than that. You see, my dad was a business owner and ever since I was a child, I wanted to “run” my own business, just like my dad. So, with the support of my family I took a leap of faith and started my own CPA firm out of our living room. That day was more than 15 years ago.  Today we are one of the premier CPA firms in the Brentwood / Nashville area, delivering world-class services to our clients globally.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I sincerely believe that “Obstacles are put on your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for”. Greater the challenge, greater the satisfaction in overcoming them.

As I mentioned before, I am from a conservative family from India: that simple fact has both been a blessing and a challenge. Many of my clients are from the Indian sub-continent, being recent immigrants themselves – they find it reassuring to interact with someone who understands their journey. However, at the same time, they hesitate to take financial advice from a woman. Traditionally in India, women do not participate much in financial matters, and at times, I had to work twice as hard to convince my clients that I am fully qualified to handle complex financial and tax scenarios. I take great pride in my work and find it very satisfying when my client calls me today, seeking my advice before making any significant financial decision.

My other big challenge is sincerely the same that every modern woman has – juggling my personal and professional life. As a successful self-made woman, carving time for myself can be a challenge. Being my clients trusted financial partner means that they reach out to me 24/7. I seek to maintain a healthy balance by following a strict regimen of hiking / biking / walking with my friends and family and by practicing Tae Kwon Do at Masters Martial Arts in Nolensville.

We’ve been impressed with Aviar Financials PC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the owner/founder of Aviar Financials PC. Aviar is a full serviced accounting firm based in Brentwood, TN. At Aviar, we consider ourselves as entrepreneurs’ who understand the need of entrepreneurs.

We specialize in providing customized, high quality services to small and mid-sized businesses. From setting up a corporation, providing accounting and tax services to business planning and consulting. At Aviar, we believe in doing more than just helping our clients run their business; we help take care of their business end to end.

For Individuals, we provide Income Tax & Financial Planning services.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
If you had asked me this question early last year, I would have said moving a “high-touch” business halfway across the US from Iowa to Nashville, where we had no local clientele was my biggest crisis. That move was challenging but nothing compared to Covid-19. Covid-19 was / is a once in a lifetime event. We reacted to the Covid-19 shutdown last spring as every other employer, a temporary blimp that will pass in a few weeks. However, as the weeks and months dragged on, we saw first-hand the financial challenges our clients faced. Small businesses are the lifeblood of America, of Aviar, and they were on life support.

For the first time in over a decade, I was worried about my business. I spent a lot of sleepless night worrying as to how long my clients can afford to pay for my services, and in turn, how I would be able to keep paying my employees and keep the lights on. Thankfully, that worry turned out to be a temporary; our clients needed us as never before, and I am proud to say we delivered. 

I quickly learned that my clients looked up to me to keep them going. I had earned their trust, now I must justify it. At the peak of the crisis, government was offering new incentives on a weekly and at times daily basis. These would have been challenging to understand and explain during normal times, explaining the same “virtually”, with limited interactions was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my professional career. However, I did not give up. I learned how to stay calm and focused on doing one thing at a time. Breaking down the problem into a bite-sized problem and take one bite at a time kept us going. So, what I initially viewed as an existential crisis turned out to be blessing in disguise. We not only persevered, we thrived!

Contact Info:

• Email: rka@aviarcpa.com
• Website: www.aviarcpa.com