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Return to success: Accountant gives up St. Louis career for family, work in Owensboro
(Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, KY) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 3--When Kevin Schwartz graduated from Apollo High School in 1992 and headed off to the University of Kentucky, he never expected to return to Owensboro -- except to visit his family.
In 2000, when he was discharged from the Air Force and moved into a new accounting job at the prestigious firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in St. Louis, Schwartz still had no thoughts of returning to Owensboro.
But in June, the 34-year-old accountant was named co-entrepreneur of the year by the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce. And local officials point to Schwartz as an example of how the "brain drain" here is slowly being reversed.
What brought him back?
Roots, Schwartz said last week in his office at Schwartz CPA Group overlooking the intersection of 18th and Frederica streets -- eight minutes from his home near Sorgho.
"I wanted to be in a big city," he recalled. "I wanted to be a partner in a big firm. And St. Louis was a good fit. It was close to home and I had some great friends there."
But five years ago, Schwartz saw his 30th birthday coming fast -- and his grandfather died.
"He was from the Birk City area," Schwartz said. "When I would come home on weekends, I'd pick him up and we'd drive down there and all around."
When he returned to St. Louis after the funeral, "I decided that family is more important than a career," Schwartz said. "I did no market research. I didn't have anything lined up in Owensboro. I just decided I wanted my own company, and I came back home. I figured as long as I could make my truck payment, I would be OK."
That, he said, "was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life."
Jody Wassmer, chamber president, said that impressed the anonymous committee that selected Schwartz along with RiverPark Center President Zev Buffman as co-entrepreneurs of the year.
"He worked for a large out-of state accounting company and chose to come home to Owensboro and start his own business," Wassmer said. "That's something we would love to see more young people do."
When he returned to Owensboro, Schwartz rented an office in the Midtown Building, 920 Frederica St.
Slept in his office
"I didn't have any employees," he said. "I answered the phones and did everything myself. I wasn't married, so I stayed there and worked until I was too tired. Then, I would lie down on a cot in the office for catnaps and wake up and start working again."
Officially, he lived with one of his brothers and ate meals with his parents.
"After the first tax season, I hired three people in one day," Schwartz said.
One was Rebecca Blandford, a Brescia University grad, who would later become his wife.
Four years ago, Schwartz moved from the Midtown Building to 111 W. Third St.
After two years there, he had run out of space for his growing company.
In August 2006, Schwartz discovered the two-story building at 1735 Frederica that was originally the home of another CPA firm, York, Neel & Co.
He bought it for $385,000, rented out part of it and moved his company into the Frederica Street side.
Now, the firm has grown to the point that Schwartz has taken over the entire 4,600-square-foot building.
The staff has grown to 13, and more will be coming soon, he said.
"We work with well over 1,000 companies and individuals in seven states as far away as Texas and Florida," Schwartz said. "And we do payrolls all over the country."
He has something that most people don't: the first dollar he ever made.
"It's framed," Schwartz said. "I was 5 or 6 years old and I helped a neighbor carry some limbs around to his front yard. He gave me a dollar. I always heard that if you keep the first dollar you make, you'll always have money to spend."
He waited tables in college and worked summers with his father, James "Dubby" Schwartz at Schwartz Heating & Cooling.
"I didn't have any skills for that business," Schwartz said. "So, I got to be the one crawling under houses with the spiders."
Air Force veteran
After graduating from UK with a degree in finance, he enlisted in the Air Force.
"My brother was in the Marines," Schwartz said. "I went to his boot camp graduation and I decided that I wanted to serve my country too."
While at Whiteman Air Force Base -- home of the B-2 bomber -- Schwartz began working on his master of business administration degree with an emphasis in finance at the nearby University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo.
Among his duties at Whiteman was preparing taxes for airmen at the base.
Wassmer said Schwartz was also chosen for the chamber honor because of his innovative business practices.
He requires each member of his staff to work 20 hours a year on community projects. And he pays them for that work.
"I'm not sure where that idea came from," Schwartz said. "I just feel like it's important to serve the community. Being involved in the community helps you grow."
He doesn't tell his staff what projects to work on. "They can choose the ones that interest them," Schwartz said. "And if they join a civic club that has dues, I pay the dues."
"That was a big item with the selection committee," Wassmer said. "A lot of employers aren't doing that."
He said the committee was also impressed with Schwartz's flex-time program.
"He created flex-time for his employees where they can work from home," Wassmer said. "That's a human-resources policy that's coming. It's going to be attractive to a lot of people. Kevin's ahead of the ballgame."
Gives employees control
"I got that idea from PricewaterhouseCoopers," Schwartz said. "They let us set our own schedule -- within reason. If you come in early, you can leave early. If you want to work through lunch, that's fine. We give people an opportunity to control their lives more. With technology the way it is, why should everybody show up at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m.?"
He also reimburses his employees for up to $1,500 of college tuition a year -- 100 percent reimbursement if they make all A's.
"Continuing education helps the culture of the business," Schwartz said.
Serving on the chamber of commerce board of directors and working closely with his clients' financial returns, Schwartz sees more of Owensboro's economy than most people.
"I think the fundamentals are in place for Owensboro," he said. "We have a good infrastructure, supportive government, a strong chamber and economic development corporation. Owensboro has a product to sell. I'm really bullish on Owensboro."
Schwartz says the city should stop touting itself as "Kentucky's third-largest" and brand itself as "western Kentucky's largest."
Bowling Green sometimes calls itself "southern Kentucky's largest city."
"I'm seeing some clients who are really struggling," Schwartz said. "And I'm seeing some whose business has never been better. It's uneven right now."
Looking back on his decision to return home to start his own company, Schwartz says: "Financially, I could have done better by staying in St. Louis. But there are more important things in life."
Now, family visits don't involve weekend trips.
He never goes in the office on Sundays -- except during tax season. He leaves work at 5 p.m. most days.
And the former high school cross-country star -- who hasn't had time to run in years -- is thinking about training for his first marathon.
Life is good right now, Schwartz said.
To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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