Meet Alvaro Acevedo | Board Certified Tax Attorney & Certified Public Accountant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alvaro Acevedo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alvaro, what do you attribute your success to?
Rather than pursuing any particular path, I concentrated on avoiding what I identify as entrepreneurship mistakes which I discuss as follows:

Mistake #1: Foregoing the opportunity to work for money while still in high school
The learning experience of getting a job while in high school is priceless because it teaches you the value of money and opens your mind to thinking about what you want to do as far as working for the rest of your life. Not knowing what to do after you finish high school is an unfortunate situation which can be remedied to an extent by simply finding a job before you graduate. It is virtually impossible to learn what you do while you work in high school anywhere else. Here you know what it is to have a boss and, in some cases, makes up your mind as to whether or not you want to aim for independence.

Mistake #2: Moving out to go to college.
Once I made up my mind that I wanted to be independent, I saw no benefit in moving out after high school ends. To the contrary, I saw it as a mistake, especially if I was to find myself in debt after finishing. Finding myself in debt from higher education, would have increased my monthly expenses forcing me, instead of focusing on starting my business, to focus on making ends meet.

Mistake #3: Getting a “high-paying Job” after graduating from college
In college, there were a number of job fairs and headhunters that aimed at recruiting me. Accepting ay such offer would have been a mistake. This is because there tends to be a relationship between the level of pay and the amount of responsibility and hours dedicated to those jobs. Moreover, as my monthly earnings from that employment increased, I would have probably bought more stuff, increased my standard of living, and incur higher monthly expenses. The higher my monthly expenses, the higher my dependence on that job. It is a vicious cycle. If I wanted my business to be successful, I had to make sure not to depend on it financially for as long as it took.

Mistake #4: Imposing Nonexistent Limitations on Starting Your Business
You do need to be licensed to start a law firm (or CPA practice for that matter). However, you do not need a license to start designing a website, negotiating prepare business plans, design you logos, prepare budgets, etc. Time is your most valuable asset, and I did not wait until getting licensed to start doing all the back office necessary to get the business going. The day I was got my license, the entire entity was set up and ready to go. I believe this is one of the reasons that the entity has been profitable from the beginning.

Mistake #5: Failure to assure you have an income stream
When I set up the company fifteen years ago, I was a single 24-year-old man. who still lived with my parents, my car was paid for, I had no education or credit card debts, and I worked part time as a music teacher. There really was no rush for the entity to get afloat. Moreover, the company had no overhead, and I did not need a draw so I was able to penetrate the market through pricing.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a conglomerate of accountants, tax preparers, and tax attorneys. The law firm is Brickell Law Group P.A. which I established in 2015 and the accounting firm is Acevedo & Associates LLP, which I established in 2007. We stand out because we provide the highest possible quality of service of any firm, tailored to international clients, helping them in their language, as a one stop shop that provides the comprehensive service of all their needs. There is no law firm with more expertise in tax than us because I am board certified in tax law, the highest level of specialty awarded by the Florida Bar. Today we have offices in three different cities and have way more inquiries than clients we can accept.

Here is a lesson I learned: Only tackle one problem at a time. When you are the founder of a law firm, you not only have to represent cases. You have to deal with billings, clients, suppliers, payables, licensing, etc… Don’t overwhelm yourself. Make a list of your problems and organize them in order of urgency. The focus on the problem in front and worry about the rest when you get there. Otherwise you will just be stressed out, not know where to begin, and not accomplish anything.

There is no other firm in the world, who has board certified professionals, educated in the most prestigious institutions of the world (i.e. Harvard and Georgetown Law), who provides all-around services in the accounting, tax, and legal fields, to all types of clients, in their language, and for an affordable cost. This is something I at least have never seen anywhere else neither in the United States nor in any of the countries we represent clients in.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is something I am not very aware of because for years I am a family man. So if you ask me, I would get out of the area and take them to Orlando to all the theme parks and maybe a Disney Cruise with my friend’s kids. Whatever time I am not with my family I try to spend it exercising, or working. I love what I do so the amount of work I perform is much more that you would expect of a typical employee. And I do it because I like it. But I am a “boring” person from a best-time ever perspective. I am happiest with my wife and three little kids, in bed, watching movies and eating popcorn. That to me is the very definition of heaven. I apologize for not being able to provide more assistance on this topic.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The biggest shoutout is and will always be to my father. I went through very difficult times where I hit rock bottom and was very close to ending my life. He was the rock where I stood and lifted me from the lowest point a human being can reach. I owe were I am to him ad he knows it.

To my physician, Dr. Monica G. Salgueiro for being able to find treatment for my health problems. But for her, I would have had no health, and with no health I would not have accomplished anything. I literally owe her my life.

To my beautiful wife, the love of my life, Ginna, who not only is the perfect wife and mother but who has been by my side in my lowest points never giving up on me and pushing me forward. I could not do any of this without her and just knowing she is there is all I need.

To my brother who provides me with an escape route to de-connect from my daily hectic life and gives me nothing but joy which keeps me going anytime I need him.

To Laura, who has been with me from the beginning, my right hand “girl” whose tremendous work and diligence allows me to grow the business, keep in check with my family, and not have to worry that things are not taken care of. I know having her from the beginning is the reason the business has grown to where it is today.

Finally to Nova Southeastern University for giving me the chance to attend law school and accomplish what I have today. Had it not been for them, this would not have happened.

Website: www.lawyercpa.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brickelllawgroup/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawyercpa

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlvaroAcevedoM/

Facebook: https://es-la.facebook.com/brickell.law/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brickell-law-group-miami

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlvaroAcevedoAbogado