Navigating Taxes: Essential Deductions for Creatives with Chika Obih, CPA

In this episode, Kay speaks with Chika Obih, CPA and money mindset educator, about the often-intimidating world of taxes and finances for artists and creative entrepreneurs. With over 14 years of experience in tax strategy and planning specifically for small businesses and creatives, Chika breaks down essential deductions, explains how to shift your relationship with finances, and offers practical advice for approaching your business numbers with confidence rather than fear.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why your approach to finances reflects your overall business mindset
• Simple strategies to start engaging with your financial numbers (even if they scare you)
• The most commonly overlooked tax deductions for artists, including the home office/studio deduction
• How to know when it's time to hire professional financial help
• Practical ways to shift from feeling overwhelmed to feeling empowered about your business finances

Resources mentioned:

• FREE GIFT: The Ultimate First-Year Tax Deduction Checklist: 7 Write-Offs Every New Business Owner Should Claim

Where to find Chika Obie:

• Instagram: @chikaobihcpa
• YouTube: Chika Obih CPA

About Chika Obih:

Chika Obih is a CPA, money mindset educator, and online course creator dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs take control of their taxes without the overwhelm. As a first-generation entrepreneur herself, she understands the struggles of navigating business finances without a roadmap. She's helped countless women confidently manage their taxes, set up simple money systems, and shift their money mindset—without sacrificing creativity or freedom.

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Transcript

Hi artists, today we have a very special guest joining us on the Artist's Guide to Business just in time for tax season. So today we're going to be talking to Chika Obie. Chika Obie is a CPA, she's a money mindset educator and an online course creator dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs take control of their taxes without the overwhelm.

with over 14 years of experience in income tax strategy and planning for small businesses and creatives. She's on a mission to make taxes finally make sense so her clients can keep more of their hard earned money and build the business of their dreams. As a first generation entrepreneur herself,

Chika understands the struggles of navigating business finances without a roadmap. She has helped countless women confidently manage their taxes, set up simple money systems, and shift their money mindset without sacrificing their freedom and their sense of enjoyment and creativity. When she's not breaking down tax deductions in a way that actually clicks,

You can find her hiking scenic trails, indulging in her latest reality romance TV obsession, or planning her next travel adventure. So yeah, and I like to call her the CPA with a sparkle. So this conversation is really illuminating and I hope you enjoy it.

Kay (02:15)
Thank you, Chika, for joining me today on the Artist's Guide to Business. I am so grateful to you for showing up today. I know you're in a busy season. And so, you know, I just want to get right into it. And I think our listeners will get to know you and get to know what you do and everything through our conversation. So let me just start with the very first question that I have for you.

why does the way that you go about your business finances determine a lot about like your business holistically? So when someone is, you know, interacting or how they approach their finances, what does that determine or kind of say about the rest of their business?

Chika Obih CPA (02:59)
Yeah, this is a good one and I understand that when it comes to money when it comes to finances It can make us act funny make us act differently and so I like to say that your business is a mirror of your mind and

Kay (03:07)
you

Chika Obih CPA (03:15)
It's really, really true when it comes to money, when it comes to finances. And so if you're the type that avoids your numbers, avoids your books, it could mean that you're avoiding something deeper. Maybe there's a fear of failure, a fear of success, feeling like you're not good enough. And so...

To me, your money really reflects your self-worth, your money habits reflect your self-worth. And so if you do value your work, you're going to value your financial side of business as well. And that means you're going to take control of your finances. You're going to ask questions. You're going to seek help. You're not going to ignore your numbers. And I think, you know, when it relates to things in life,

that maybe we're not good at, instead of avoiding when we look at the problem, look at the situation, it helps to build our confidence, right? It helps us to get good in that area. And with finances specifically, it's going to help you to build that foundation so that you can grow your business the way that you desire.

Finances, I mean, it's really pivotal no matter what type of business you're running. artists and creatives are included. It's very, very important to really hone in on your money, understand your money. And if it is an area that maybe you don't feel as strong in, it's okay to seek help. Seek help, yeah.

Kay (04:52)
Yeah,

absolutely. You know, I definitely think a lot of creative people and myself included, when it comes to looking at money, you just don't want to. You know, it's almost like it's sort of the reality check when you're living your artistic dreams and you're being your artistic self. It feels like this sort of strange reality check or it's like, I don't want to have to think about that. I just want to make my art.

You know, it does. And then I also sometimes like personally can feel almost like scared to look at my finances, you know? And is this something you've noticed with your more creative clients? Is that sort of something that we get to experience?

Chika Obih CPA (05:39)
yeah, for sure, for sure. You know how they say we have a right brain and a left brain. And so when it comes to my creative clients, right, the right brained people, I feel like I'm a left brain person, right? And so I'm just so in awe of creatives, of artists, because I don't know how to do what they do. And for them, they do it so naturally. It's like,

my gosh, you're amazing. Like, how are you so good at photography, drawing, styling? Like, you know, and so.

when it comes to those things, I feel like an imposter. I feel like I'm hiding. I feel like I'm not good enough. And so I can totally understand when it comes to the money side, the logical side, where here I am feeling like, wow, like it just comes easy to me. Numbers tell a story. Like I can make a story out of numbers. And so the way logic comes easy to me or numbers come easy to me.

I can kind of flip the role to understand how a creative is more, you know, maybe there's a little fear around the numbers the same way there's a fear around being creative for me. But just the same, you know, I still have to be creative in certain aspects of my business. For instance, I do have a social media presence and so I do have to show up. I still have to

talk to clients, talk to people. And to me, that's the creative stuff that may not come as easy, but I put my fears aside and I just show up. I just try. And so the same thing with money and with numbers for creative, I give them so much kudos when they come to me, right? Because even to just seek out an accountant sometimes could be a struggle.

Maybe there's intimidation, you don't know what you don't know, but just having a conversation is a great start. They're gonna ask you questions and if you don't know the answer, we'll work it out. We'll figure it out together. So I think that we all have our fears no matter what it is, but first step is to acknowledge and to just show up, to just don't avoid it.

Kay (08:04)
Yeah.

Chika Obih CPA (08:05)
Just try.

Kay (08:06)
Yeah,

and I really love like the idea of, you know, when I teach people art or teach them business, I've always been very focused on that idea that we're not good at the things that we're beginners at, you know, if it's something that's outside your realm, if it's something you haven't really approached before, you're not going to be very like

expert level at it in the very beginning. And with art, I'll teach people that this is part of letting yourself kind of be creative and just trust the process and go for it. But with money and with looking at your business finances, it's almost about letting yourself be in control or have a little bit of empowerment around what's happening in your financial well-being, right?

Is there, yeah, and it's the way you described that just made that so clear to me. How can artists start to shift their relationship with business finances so that they can feel more empowered other than overwhelmed? Is there things that they can do at home or in their weekly, monthly business practices that will...

Chika Obih CPA (09:02)
Exactly.

Kay (09:27)
start to kind of breach that relationship and help them to feel empowered.

Chika Obih CPA (09:33)
Yeah, yeah, this is a good question. And just thinking about the creative or the artists that, let's just say that they might be afraid of looking at their numbers. They avoid their numbers. They don't even know how much came in last month, how much went out last month. So in talking to that person, the first thing I would say is, what if...

you looking at your numbers or you knowing your numbers was a direct correlation to increasing your revenue, increasing your profits. Just start there, right? Simply by looking at your numbers, your revenue, your income is going up. So by knowing that, getting that in your head, it's like, okay, I want that, right? I want more money. So, okay, let me just sit down and

open up my my bank account, right? My business bank account. Let me just look, look at what came in, look at what came out over the last 30 days. And I would just say, you know, maybe that's the first step is just to see the numbers, even if you're, if you can't even make sense of it, just, just, just look. And then maybe after you've looked at the first 30 days, maybe you see, okay, 5k came in, 7k went out. Okay.

That's a, you 2000 net went out. Okay. Let me look at the month before. And then you see that pattern, right? And something about, dang, I thought I did really well last month, but I was in a net loss of 2k. Okay. So this month it's looking like, so, so let's say it's looking like the same amount coming in 5k. Okay. But we're only in the middle of the month.

So, hmm, your juices start to flow. Creativity, like, huh, what can I do to potentially get one more sale? Ah, that person reached out to me and they were interested in my work, but they didn't contact me. Let me follow up with that person. You know what I mean? Like it gives us the confidence. It gives us the motivation to push through.

to try to reach out. You know what I mean? It becomes a game almost and it's fun. That game is fun. So I would say perhaps instead of like just avoiding, just take a look and not that you're taking a look to become a pro, to become an expert. No, you just want to see the patterns. I'm just looking to see the patterns. What came in last month? What went out? How is it looking this month?

What is coming in? What is going out? Okay. What can I do between now and the end of the month to increase my income by a thousand or, you know, 5,000, whatever, and then make a game out of it. And I promise that once you get into the groove of that, you'll start to see like, like I met that goal. Let me increase the next goal.

Kay (12:48)
You

Chika Obih CPA (12:50)
and you'll really just have this natural inclination to want to learn and to be better and to be consistent with looking at your numbers. So I think that's a fun approach to it.

Kay (12:59)
Yeah.

the approach that you just described, it starts by just looking at the numbers, allowing yourself to look at them, keep them neutral. One thing I love though, that you explained here is that sort of gamification, right? Like the sort of like, these numbers are not a reflection on if I'm good, or if I'm bad, or you know, any of that. And I'm not saying that everybody has these deep kind of emotional experiences when they look at their numbers.

They might, you anyway, so being able to almost turn it into a game that then motivates you to take productive actions in your business is really cool. And what you described, like maybe you do a monthly, you check in at the end of the month and then halfway through the next month. Maybe those are kind of your two times. Is there any additional thought on?

How often you might want to check in on those.

Chika Obih CPA (13:59)
Yeah, you I would say at the least monthly, but ideally, you know, try to get towards weekly, you know, because yeah, ideally, and once you start making it a habit, a weekly habit, you'll start to see that it really just takes like five, 10 minutes. Like it's not like this whole chore that's gonna take half a day, you know what I mean? And.

Kay (14:08)
wow, okay.

Okay.

Chika Obih CPA (14:25)
I think maybe people have that in their head, that, it's going to take all my time. I'll do it later. I'll do it next time. But no, in the beginning, if you've been avoiding for months or years, however long, okay.

Kay (14:28)
Thank

Chika Obih CPA (14:39)
expected to perhaps take a little bit longer in the beginning. But once you get into that groove, once it becomes a habit, again, whether it's monthly, whether it's weekly, it's really just about 10 minutes each time. And again, you'll start to see the fun of it because you'll see like, okay, I made this much last week. Okay, I'm really going to push through to get these cells that are in process, you know? So, yeah.

Kay (15:05)
Yeah, and that's

perfect. wonder too if, yeah, that just kind of normalizes it and gets people more comfortable with just being aware of that. I was going to say also, I think that once you start paying attention to your numbers, sometimes they'll surprise you a little bit where you're like, I actually am making money. You know, it's like, that can be a nice surprise.

Chika Obih CPA (15:29)
Hahaha

Kay (15:30)
Because if you're sort of just artists and creatives largely are of the, there's that mythology around us, right? That we have to be starving to be successful or that if we're artists, we shouldn't be earning money. And it creates this disconnect that is not just about what comes in, but it's about kind of our overall perception of our businesses and what we're doing. I remember the first time I was actually making money.

in my business and I remember being like, holy cow, I can't believe this is happening. I'm actually like averaging $5,000 a month at this point. And I had no, it was almost like I totally didn't know until I really sat down and saw all those numbers. And I will admit this at the end of the year, or I should say at tax time the next year.

Chika Obih CPA (16:21)
Text time. Yup.

Kay (16:22)
I don't do that

Chika Obih CPA (16:23)
Yup.

Kay (16:23)
anymore, but I did it back then. But actually, that's perfect segue into our next topic. As a CPA, as someone who works with creatives, tell me this, Chika, why do creative entrepreneurs often put taxes on the back burner until it's too late?

Chika Obih CPA (16:43)
Yeah, I mean, some of what we've already kind of talked about, like it's the fear of not knowing, right? It's the fear of doing something wrong. It's maybe money and numbers and math wasn't our favorite topic growing up in school.

We were the artists. And so now that we're business owners or entrepreneurs, we've got to look at our numbers. Finances become very, very, important in business. But you have it in your mind that money is icky, asking for too much. it's...

It's not what we do as artists, you know? So it's definitely a mindset thing. It's a mindset thing. It could be a stigma within the industry as well. And I would just suggest that knowing...

Knowing your talents, right? You you've decided to become an artist. You've decided to become a business owner, an entrepreneur to sell your artistry. You're amazing. And just always remember that to continue to be amazing is not just one area. You got to open.

your perspective, your mindset into the other areas that matter, especially because it is going to determine your longevity, your success. And so the beautiful thing is you don't have to do it alone, right? If, if, if you're the type of person that tends to work in groups, tends to, uh, see the value in hiring help.

do that around your numbers as well, know, hiring an accountant or even utilizing apps. And a lot of times these apps will have professionals behind the scenes that you can talk to someone within the app, right? So you're never alone, you know, you never have to do it alone. So that's what I would say. I, I, because again, creativity is in my strong suit, but I don't allow that to

Keep me down, you know, I don't use that as an excuse. It's like, okay Let me let me buy this coaching program or let me hire this copywriter You know what I mean? Like I find a way that works and so we can all do that no matter what the topic is

Kay (19:04)
So I will tell you this, I was not expecting a conversation about accounting and taxes and money to turn into this kind of reflection on finding community and creating, you know, an experience where you're not isolated or alone in your business, you know? And I think for, there's a lot of entrepreneurs, but also especially artists who do feel isolated.

in their efforts, especially if they live in a smaller town or anything like that. So I'm almost really cluing in here to, this is actually somewhat inspirational about finding people to support you and help your journey. And then also you can do that back, you know? So I think that's pretty cool and somewhat unexpected. So I really appreciate that message from you.

I want to know too, you know, as we're coming up on the taxes, as we're talking about maybe hiring a CPA or an accountant to help us with our taxes, can you go over some of maybe the most commonly overlooked deductions that are specific to business owners, but also specific to artists? Like what kind of things should people be thinking about that

hey, you can write this off on your taxes. Also, Chika, maybe right before you get into it, if you could just tell people what it means to write things off on their taxes. My audience ranges from people who've been in business for years to people who are just starting. So even a brief explanation of what that means might be helpful. Thank you.

Chika Obih CPA (20:43)
Oh yeah, for sure, for sure.

Yeah, so to write things off is to deduct, know, subtract, is that another word? Against the income that you've made, the revenue that you've made, right? So if, let's just use small, you you've made $1,000 by selling art, but.

Kay (20:58)
I like it.

Chika Obih CPA (21:12)
with selling that thousand dollar piece of art, you, you paid $200 on paintings and supplies and materials. And so the write-off or the deduction is the $200. You are deducting what you spent against the income that you made. Right. So essentially that's what that is. You're deducting against the money that you made. And so with that said,

Deductions and write-offs is the biggest question that I usually get, right? Because business owners, we want to pay the smallest amount of taxes to the IRS. Chica, help me. How do I save money on taxes, right? How can I increase my deductions? And so, yes.

Kay (21:56)
Three.

Absolutely. I mean,

I will say that is something that I'm always curious about because when you start paying self-employment tax, it's a solid chunk of change and you're working your butt off to make that money. So it's hard.

Chika Obih CPA (22:06)
Yeah.

It adds

up. It adds up. And so I will say some of the most overlooked deductions, especially creatives, because I think, you know, creatives, tend to start off in our homes, right? And so if you are doing business inside your home, then the home office deduction is available to you, right? Because that is your business space. That is

that you have a space in your home where you do business. so with that.

Kay (22:48)
I mean, that seems

really important. So it's essentially your studio, but you can call it your home office or your home business space.

Chika Obih CPA (22:58)
Exactly. And of course, you know, there's rules to it, right? For instance, if you pay 2000 a month in rent, no, you cannot deduct the full 2000 as a home office expense. There's, there's specifications as to how big is the studio space or the office space versus the overall space of your home. Right. So yes.

Kay (23:02)
Okay.

So I have to tell you, this is so funny

because I do know about this rule. And every year to my husband's chagrin, the square footage that my studio takes up slowly increases. Isn't that funny? Like the first year it was one room and then it slowly became two rooms. And I'm like, that's, you know.

Chika Obih CPA (23:28)
Okay, okay.

Yeah

Yeah!

Kay (23:48)
They're not gonna believe me if I also tell them it's the third, like, so we'll just go with those two rooms.

Chika Obih CPA (23:55)
Three rooms out of three. Yeah, yeah, we believe it. But no, but oftentimes, and I see this all the time, right? I'll get a new client. Generally, they are gonna be a creative and I'm looking at their prior year tax return and I don't see that they've taken the home office deduction. So of course, to be correct that we take it in the year in which they become a client.

Kay (24:00)
Yup.

Chika Obih CPA (24:20)
And already I'm seeing that we're reducing their taxable income by like $4,000. You know what I mean? So it adds up and imagine all the years prior that they didn't take the deduction, you know? And so to me, honestly, the home office deduction is one of the biggest ones. And I actually talk about that deduction specifically in a free checklist that I offer. And we can get into that later, but that's...

Kay (24:28)
wow.

Wow.

Chika Obih CPA (24:50)
probably one of the most asked about deduction because one, oftentimes people might know about it, but they don't take it because they say, I hear that the IRS audits the home office deduction heavily, right? And yes, yes, it's one of the heavily audited deductions. It's true. However,

Kay (24:53)
That's incredible, yeah.

Chika Obih CPA (25:17)
If you have a home office and you can substantiate the space, the square footage, then take the deduction because it's accurate. And should you ever get audited by the IRS, all it is is they're going to be asking you questions. And again, you can substantiate the space. And so you, you, you turn in the answers and then boom, they approve it. Your deductions are intact. So.

Don't ever be afraid of taking a position on a tax return if it's accurate, you know? Right?

Kay (25:51)
I love that. Yeah, like if it's

accurate and honest, I did early on too. I had an accountant that told me the mileage I had recorded was going to alarm them and was going to be a problem. And so she actually reduced the amount of mileage that I claimed, which I live in a very big state and to get to job sites I was working on required

driving a lot and every you know every single contractor that was driving up there and everyone who was doing that was all you know it made perfect sense but anyway so that's my experience there and I do remember thinking like these are honest numbers and I could prove it you know like so it's kind of interesting

Chika Obih CPA (26:37)
Yes!

That is very interesting. it's so, you know, it brings me back because yeah, you know, as, as the accountant, right? If, if this was us and, and I see you saying that, okay, you drove a number of miles, excuse me. And let's say it is a lot. I'm not gonna automatically say, okay, that's too much. Let's reduce it. No, I'm going to ask you questions.

Kay (27:06)
Mm.

Chika Obih CPA (27:09)
Okay, you drove $10,000 in business miles, or excuse me, 10,000 miles of in business. Is that accurate? Like, tell me more about that. And then you would, of course, tell me about how, yeah, like every drive was at least 50 miles one way, 50 miles coming back. And I did that about a thousand miles a month. you know, so it's just asking questions. And by...

Kay (27:14)
you

I love that.

Chika Obih CPA (27:36)
And once I would have heard that from you, it would have been like, okay, it's accurate. It's correct. She can claim it. But just because a number is big or out of the ordinary, that alone is not enough if it's accurate, you know, if the tax law can support, you know, the position that we're taking. So, you want an accountant that's curious and that asks questions.

Kay (27:43)
Ha

Hahaha!

Oh, that's really good to know. So I definitely have been a person who does things on my own a lot, but accounting and an accountant was one of the first things that I went for when I had some extra revenue to spend on professional things. Would you mind just telling us a little bit, what is, you know,

First of all, how do you know when it's time to get professional help versus managing it yourself? And then yeah, honestly, in our state, it's like finding a CPA who's available has been, it's a challenge, but what do you kind of look for or what are some things to pay attention to when you are looking for this help?

Chika Obih CPA (28:51)
Yeah, no, that is a great question. When is it time to hire an accountant, a CPA, a tax professional? Well, for one, if you're stressing, if you're stressing about your taxes, your finances, that could be a sign, right? mean, stress alone is not the only requirement, but I would say that if...

Another requirement or not a requirement but like another sign that it might be time to hire a tax professional is for one You're a business owner. You used to be w-2, but now you're a business owner. You're full-time and You're making money. You know what mean? I say that

Hiring a tax professional is an investment. It's not an expense. And so I understand, especially if you're new in business, you tend to want to, you know, hold on to your money. know, everything is considered expensive, but no, look at a tax professional as an investment.

Kay (29:43)
Yeah. No.

Chika Obih CPA (30:00)
an investment in your future business success, an investment in your peace of mind, your sanity. If you've been doing it yourself, you're always doing it late, meaning you probably are always paying penalties because it's always late. You're missing deadlines, right? All those things add up. Remember earlier I mentioned how one client was missing $4,000 a year in tax deductions.

Kay (30:28)
Yes.

Chika Obih CPA (30:30)
The, the, the tax professional is not going to be 4,000, right? So you're, you're thinking, Oh, I'm, just say the tax professional was a thousand, but if the, $1,000 saves you an extra 3000, 5,000, 10,000, it's worth it. And nine times out of 10, it often does give you a return on your investment by hiring a tax professional. So yeah.

Kay (30:59)
That's

a really great way to look at it. know, once you get serious about your business and once you see income coming in, you know, hiring people to help you manage these kind of issues. Yeah, it's a total what you said. It's an investment that can earn you more money in the long run. Also, even just the peace of mind, I feel like when, so there were a few years there where I was submitting my husband and my taxes alone or on my own and I was using

you know, I don't know what, but going through it and I was like, I think I got this right, you know, but the peace of mind was definitely not the same level as when my accountant calls us up and says, hey, come sign this and check out these papers, you know, and then I'm like, yes, everything is in order. Like I know they got it all done and it's done well. And if something goes weird, I have someone to help me and back me up.

Chika Obih CPA (31:48)
Bray!

Kay (31:57)
you know? So yeah, I agree.

Chika Obih CPA (31:58)
Exactly. And

all those things to me are what you just said is priceless. And let's talk about your time, like how it freed you up. How long were you taking when you were doing it yourself versus all the free time you created to focus on your craft once you hired the tax pro to do it for you? know what I mean? So oftentimes, and I get it again, it's a mindset thing.

Kay (32:21)
Yeah.

Chika Obih CPA (32:25)
But oftentimes you don't think about the time savings, the stress, the mental health, the sanity, shoot, how we treat our clients. What if your creativity level goes up a ton because you're not over here having to deal with these numbers that's pissing you off? You know what I mean? So.

Kay (32:44)
Yeah, exactly.

Chika Obih CPA (32:45)
We have

to think beyond just, it's a thousand dollars, know, like, what else are you getting out of it? It's more than money. Yeah.

Kay (32:53)
Yeah, absolutely. Is

$1,000 kind of a standard rate? What would people who have never engaged this kind of profession, like, what could they be sort of expecting?

Chika Obih CPA (33:05)
Honestly, it ranges. really, really, really, truly depends. One thing, can be, depending on the state that you're living in, depending on who you, yeah. Yeah, it's very varied.

Kay (33:15)
it this way, you know, since it's so varied. If you're listening

to this and you're considering it, just call someone who is local to you or someone you're interested in working with and find out real numbers. I think my account this year, it costs us like $300 or something like that. And then another year though, it was 700 with someone else. I think there's, there's, and that was a complicated year, to be fair too. But you know, I think it's worth

Chika Obih CPA (33:34)
Okay.

It varies. Okay.

Kay (33:43)
just kind of following in and checking up and that's part of the journey, right? It's like, okay.

Chika Obih CPA (33:48)
It

really is and I will say that you know, I'm in California so We pay for where we live, you know, so Yeah, but but you can always as you mentioned you can always call up and get a free consult and they can give you a Range so before you even have to pay anything you can find out how much it might cost before you say yes, so

Kay (33:52)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Perfect.

of wow. So, So Chica, this has all been really mindset, you know, beautiful. Here's what I want to do. So you mentioned that you have the checklist to help first time business owners. Is that right? Early business or no, just to help anyone find deductions in their taxes. Is that right? Tell me a little bit about this checklist resource you have.

Chika Obih CPA (34:32)
Yeah. So in my work, I do focus on business owners that are in their first 12 months of business. However, this checklist and I'm seeing is that it's honestly for anyone who may not be certain if they're taking all the deductions that are available to them. know, and so what this checklist is, is the ultimate

tax deduction checklist and it offers seven write-offs that every small business owners should claim. And so again, whether you're in your first 12 months, whether in your first five years, oftentimes of these seven, you'll see that either maybe you were not even taking a deduction or you probably wasn't taking it the correct way.

the home office deduction for instance. So I think that everybody can learn something by downloading that free checklist. And I also offer a bonus with that checklist where I have a seven video series where you'll get seven videos where I go deep into each of the seven deductions. I provide examples.

Kay (35:44)
Wow.

Chika Obih CPA (35:46)
Yeah, so whether you're a visual learner where you just want to read it or you need to hear it out, hear me break it down, you get it all and it's 100 % free.

Kay (35:58)
Wow, that sounds like an incredible resource. So we will definitely be linking to that in the show notes and anywhere we talk about this episode. I think too, the other thing about this is even if you are going to hire a CPA or get some help with all of this outside of yourself, educational tools like this, like what you just talked about, those deep dives, they're so invaluable to just

watch through them and make sure you understand what's going on so that when you do start hiring help or you do start getting outside help, there's no other word, you really have some context, right? You're not just kind of like, like it's not empowering what we were talking about earlier to just like be like, I don't wanna look at this at all, hand it off, you know? That's not the kind of empowerment. It's more, I wanna understand this and I wanna know.

and ground myself in the reality of it and kind of get a picture of it. And then I want to hand it off to an expert like Chika who can make magic happen with my numbers. But you don't want to just kind of say, that's something I want nothing to know about. You want to know about it too, right?

Chika Obih CPA (36:59)
Yes.

Yeah, exactly. In

fact, and those are who makes the best clients. It's the ones who trust their accountant to handle the numbers, making sure everything is done correctly, making sure that they can communicate what's going on to the client. They're asking the client questions so that they're...

filing the returns, they're doing everything accurately. There's no guessing. And if something is a mystery, boom, we're able to have conversations. But the types of clients that they don't want to know anything, they just hand everything off and they don't even look at the numbers before it's time to file it. That's not good either. Right. And so to be a successful business owner,

No matter what your love of numbers is, you have to have some type of comfort in looking at your numbers. And so whether you can do that by yourself or you need to hold your accountant's hand and they're there for you, it's fine. But whatever works for you, you got to look at your numbers.

Kay (38:18)
I love it. I think this has been a really valuable conversation. And I always say this, I think creativity in people comes out in all sorts of different ways. And clearly, like your creative juices and passion, like the way you look when you talk about this stuff, you can tell it's just like lighting you up. Yeah, and I love that so much. I think.

Chika Obih CPA (38:36)
Cashing it. Yeah.

Kay (38:43)
I personally think numbers and all of that, it's just so creative too, because you're making connections and you're seeing how things fit together and you can see it in the way you're talking about it. So I love

folks to start. Is there anything we missed before we move to the lightning questions round?

Chika Obih CPA (38:56)
Yeah.

Yeah, so something you mentioned earlier about having a community around numbers. And so that's actually what I'm doing these days. know, I've been a CPA since 2011. I've had my own business where I was doing tax filings, tax planning, one-on-one work with business owners and individuals. And I found that oftentimes the people that were neglected

were women that were in their first year of business. And the reason for that is because they would often have 50 million questions, but did not have the money to invest in a CPA. So unfortunately, I wasn't really able to help them one-on-one, just the way my services were. But now I'm getting into online courses, workshops, speaking engagements.

And I can fully focus my intention on working with women, working with creatives that are just starting off in entrepreneurship and oftentimes their first generation and their family to become entrepreneurs. And so I love that this is now my focus. The checklist is the best way to kind of get into my world because you'll then be on my email list. So

You'll see all the workshops, the courses, you'll be the first to know. So if this sounds interesting, if it sounds like, Chica, I need this, just get my checklist to get on my email list and I've got you.

Kay (40:41)
I love it. I'm gonna, yeah, definitely. I think that that is an amazing opportunity. And I'm so glad that you saw a need and you're filling it, you know, for folks who didn't have that access before. So thank you for doing that. And thank you for sharing all your expertise and your bright joy today. Okay, so real fast lightning round. Tell me, first of all,

Chika Obih CPA (40:58)
haha

Kay (41:09)
What is the last or your favorite piece of art? So it can be one that you just bought or something you bought or maybe someone gifted it to you. What's a piece of art in your life that you are like, I love this piece of art. It can be anything. is no, and I also want to be clear in the artist's guide to business, crafts are art. So handmade mugs, things like that, all of that, those are all art. None of them are, you know.

Chika Obih CPA (41:25)
It could be anything.

Kay (41:37)
You

Chika Obih CPA (41:38)
Okay, okay, the last piece of art that I've last purchased that I really, loved was there was these earrings, gold earrings that looked like the wings of an angel. It was really unique because it wasn't like literal wings, but you can just tell like, like was it broken off?

Kay (41:55)
No!

Chika Obih CPA (42:06)
Anyway, it was so beautiful.

Kay (42:08)
they sound amazing. I love jewelry like that because it's wearable art, you know?

Chika Obih CPA (42:10)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yes,

and I will say I am a minimalist and so usually my clothes are basic, but it's usually a piece of jewelry, a necklace that is unique, that is a conversation starter. I really like, yeah, just one unique piece and I'm perfect. Yeah, and I'm good.

Kay (42:33)
Okay, next question. What's a quote or a mantra that guides your life? So that's a heavy question, heavy hitter. I'm like, just give it to me. But if you could just share a quote that you're excited about or that you think is great. And if nothing comes to mind, that's okay, you let me know.

Chika Obih CPA (42:44)
It is.

Yeah!

You know what, something that I, it comes up, it has been coming up pretty often is remembering to tell myself that everyone has free will. And I usually have to say that, remind myself of that when I find myself doing too much. For instance, let's say someone said that they would

Kay (43:11)
Hmm.

Hmm.

Chika Obih CPA (43:25)
call you at a certain time and they don't. In fact, you haven't heard from them for days. And in the past, I would be the one to want to follow up or to get mad, to get annoyed, to get frustrated. But no, everyone has free will. They said they would call. They said they would follow up and they didn't.

It's not up to me to babysit, to run after them, to remind them. We're all adults, especially adults. We all have free will. We're not, we're not kids. And so a person's decision, it speaks loud and loud and clear. Their actions speak loud and clear. So I don't have to feel in the gaps. We all have free will. We all do what we want to do. and so that has made my life so much easier, like peace of mind.

Kay (44:15)
You know.

Absolutely.

I love that. It's such a, it's like a clear boundary. You know, it's just like, it's a really clear boundary. Hey, you know what? That's what they did.

Chika Obih CPA (44:20)
Yeah.

Yes.

And

you remind yourself and you just keep on pushing. You don't have to keep it in your head. No, like, okay, let me go this way.

Kay (44:36)
Yeah.

Absolutely.

you know, I realize that is much bigger and deeper than just what we're, you know, just talking about business. But there's something about that that resonates too for people in business so much because so many artists when they start selling, they're like, should I follow up? How do I talk about my art? How do I ask them to pay for it? Like, you know, there's all these questions with this sort of idea that what we do somehow

changes the behavior or controls our clients. And if we do it correctly, they'll buy it. But if we do it incorrectly, they won't buy it. But that's not the truth. You just have to present the options, you know, and help them to see it and to, you know, you do obviously build up sales, but at the end of the day, they get to make their choice and that frees you up to provide that option. you know, just to, I don't know. That's what I always think about too with that.

I love that though, you're so right. Have you, yeah, we'll chat about this later, but like I love that so much what you just said. Okay, and then the very last thing, what is your favorite way to disconnect from work?

Chika Obih CPA (45:35)
Yeah, no, I like that.

Yeah. One of the easiest and free way, the free way that I love is I hop in a car. There's this beautiful park not too far from me where there's like a three mile. What's this called? Radiate radius. So conference, I think that's the word lake. There's a lake or right in the middle of this park.

Kay (46:08)
Yeah! Or, circumf? I don't know, yeah! Noooo!

Chika Obih CPA (46:17)
that has beautiful nature around the walkway, like a three mile walkway. And I'll just drive over there, park and just walk. I just walk and all you hear are the birds. There's ducks and little baby ducks and they're just doing their thing in the water and the trees are just, you know, it's just, it's nature. And this place is like five minutes from me. And so,

Kay (46:35)
Hmm.

Chika Obih CPA (46:45)
Usually, like if I'm having like a really stressful day, I've had bad, you know, hard conversations, I'll just hop in the car, go to that park and it literally just melts the stress. And I'm like, wait, what was I worried about earlier? Like it just melts. And I really just get answers. I just, it's magical. It's just really magical. So just being in nature is just the best way for me to like.

Kay (47:09)
Yeah.

Chika Obih CPA (47:12)
unplug from work.

Kay (47:15)
Absolutely,

thank you. I mean, I wanna go for a walk now and see some ducks. So Chica, I just wanted to say again, thank you so much for your time and sharing your expertise today. Everyone who's listening, she made time to talk to us during one of the busiest seasons in a CPA's life. So I'm so grateful to her to do that.

And again, Chica, we will link, we'll link your, so that's the best way. We will put a link to sign up for that checklist in our show notes on the website, everything like that. Is there any social media you'd like them to check out or anything like that?

Chika Obih CPA (47:58)
Yeah, so I'm on Instagram as well as YouTube. I do videos where I'm talking to creatives and women entrepreneurs. And so the handle is the same for both at Chica OBCPA. So just one word for YouTube and for Instagram, Chica OBCPA.

Kay (48:16)
Perfect, and we'll link

to that too so everybody has an easy access. Thank you so much.

Chika Obih CPA (48:20)
Awesome.