My Origin Story

I never dreamt of a specific profession when I was younger. I always thought I could do anything I wanted to do but I really lived in each moment back then, when all I did was eat, sleep, and breathe sports (baseball mostly). I didn’t think about what came after the inevitable moment where I realize that I would not be able to play baseball professionally. I knew it was the longest shot, especially considering I was 5’9”, 155 pounds, and barely had an ounce of athletic ability. Still, I loved and studied the game.

I sort of fell into my first business through my love of baseball. I was an instructor at a baseball training facility training mostly 9–14 year-olds. There was an unused gym, and I thought I could help young athletes both learn the game and develop their physical strength and agility. A couple months of online training courses and I was ready to teach them what I had learned, but I had no idea how to market myself, and shortly after I started, I realized that I wasn’t passionate enough to turn this into a successful business.

After my first go around at college I moved to Australia and then New Zealand. Working at and managing liquor stores along the way (this will be relevant soon). I also found that when I was living and working in Queenstown, New Zealand that there were always amazing concerts in neighbouring cities/towns that many people wanted to go to but didn’t want to manage the logistics of it all.

Thus, my second company, one that operated bus trips to concerts around the south island of New Zealand was born. We booked the bus, the hotel, and got the tickets to the concert. It was a great idea, and the trips were memorable, but it wasn’t very lucrative and shortly after I started, I was done.

No money lost, but I spent lots of time learning more about how to market and I knew now that was my greatest weakness.

My story picks up when I was managing a liquor store in Queenstown when I was having a drink (or two) with a brewery founder friend of mine. He was lamenting the difficulty of getting his beer into Canada and specifically B.C. Of course, I knew B.C. well, and I knew some of the basics of how alcoholic beverages were distributed, but I did not know a ton about importing.

Naturally, I said “I can do that for you”.

Forgetting about that conversation I went about my life, and a few months later I got a call from said friend, and he said, “are we doing this or what?”  

I said, “doing what again?”

He said, “getting our beer into B.C.”

Six months later I was a licensed import agent, and my first shipment was on the water. I was not far behind, and I made my way back home with four wineries and one brewery in my portfolio.

I got a loan to pay for half of the shipment, some business cards, and a basic website. I worked at my stepfathers business selling medical supplies over the phone to eastern Canada early in the morning and then hit the road each day peddling my wares to every liquor store, pub, and restaurant I could find. Making my way into Alberta (by car) shortly after launching.

This was my first taste of moderate success. It felt foreign to me, like I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it continued, I had small wins, singles and doubles if you will, but no home runs (yet).

I then made friends with another agent in town who ran a beer import agency. They were operating in B.C. and were trying to get into Alberta. They were successful in their own right and after having conversations over many weeks we decided to join forces. We would keep the wine portfolio in my company and the beer portfolio in theirs.

This was right as craft beer was beginning to hit its stride in Canada, B.C. especially. We grew exponentially over the next couple years and while cash flow was always a struggle, we saw some significant revenue figures that made us realize we were onto something big. The first time in my life I felt like I was making an impact in business.

Then the other shoe dropped.

The Canadian dollar was at par to the U.S. dollar when we were importing most of our products from the U.S. The shift from par to 1.40 felt like it happened in an instant. It didn’t, but that’s what it felt like because we didn’t hedge. A once profitable business was now barely viable.

I had to make a tough decision. I decided to go back to school and get all my pre-requisites for the CPA program. I always had a knack for accounting, and I knew, if I was ever going to change careers, that would be my path.

I went back to school, and then into public practice, got my CPA, spent the requisite time in audit, and I was off to the races. Knowing full well that I didn’t want to be an employee forever, I always had business ideas top of mind.

I spent several years mulling over what my next steps would be. I knew I loved business, I knew I was a strong accountant, and even stronger with the experience of running multiple businesses in the past.

Now, I can’t take credit for the idea of Origin Accounting. My then partner, now wife said, “we should just start our own firm.” I don’t know if it was in passing or if she had given this thought, but I couldn’t get it out of my head.

We were both great at what we do, armed with years of accounting experience and experience in business. I wanted to be able to share that experience with other founders, share what I wish I knew when I started my first business at 23 years old.

Now, almost 20 years later, I’m still learning, still making strides towards success. I love working with founders, I love talking strategy, I love seeing businesses thrive. I love it all.

Origin Accounting & Advisory is the perfect business for me, because I get to do what I love, every day.

That’s my Origin Story.

What’s yours?