ABOUT WES

Hi. I’m Wes.

If you ask my friends and family, I love taking the scenic route when I drive.

Likewise, my professional journey has followed a similar road map: meandering in journalism for seven years before doing a U-turn into public accounting for almost 10 years. I’m now combining my two passions – business writing and advising.

Here’s the short version of how that happened.

After spending seven years as a reporter and editor for a daily newspaper in Meadville, PA, I was ready for a new challenge. And learning the language of business was the path I chose to pursue. 

I wasn’t sure where my new career path would take me, but there was no mistaking the passion I developed for studying how businesses worked and how they fit in the overall economy while working at “The Meadville Tribune.”

I eventually transitioned to a career in public accounting as an auditor and earned my CPA license.

As my interest in business and economics continued to grow, I moved my wife and then 2-year-old daughter to Austin, TX, so I could attend “The Acton School of Business,” a one-year MBA program that focuses exclusively on entrepreneurship.

What better way to learn how to start and grow (and eventually sell) a business than by studying under successful entrepreneurs?

While other MBA programs teach you marketing only within the confines of a classroom, I participated in cold calling and door-to-door selling exercises. I didn’t just learn the theory behind successful sales funnels – I actually learned how to build them.

Since graduating from Acton, I’ve immersed myself more and more in the world of business. I learned the secrets of successful small businesses while working for 7 years at several public accounting firms, including Ernst & Young. I now help small businesses as an advisor and a writer.

After 8 wonderful years in Texas, I now reside in Lakeville, Minnesota, just south of the Twin Cities, with my beautiful wife, Katie, and our three kids – Gwendolyn, Abigail and Charlie.