After being in the financial industry for 11 years, Kimberly Bey, President/CEO of KB Associates Bookkeeping, LLC decided to leave a high end credit union position in July, 2010 and start her own business assisting small business owners with their books.
As a passionate woman who enjoys working with people to find resolutions to their challenges, Kimberly started out helping people as a student in college. While earning her undergraduate degree in English from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, she volunteered as a “defense lawyer”, gradually building her way up to a Chief Justice, fighting on behalf of the students in Student Traffic Court. She’d nail the situation down and fight on the student’s behalf. Kimberly won all of the cases that she fought and had many of the student’s traffic fines lowered.
After college, Kimberly’s first job was at a bank working in customer service. After five months as a customer service representative, she progressed to become a junior underwriter and loan processor for a finance company. Eventually Kimberly ended up running the Closing Department at the bank for four and half years in Columbus, Ohio.
Keeping her family priority though, Kimberly moved to Washington State to support her brother’s ministry. Olympia is where she continued her career and went to work for a local credit union. During her time at the credit union, Kimberly managed the Lending Operations and lead the department in a developing their new core loan origination system. In Lending Operations Kimberly managed policies and procedures, lending trainings, and many other critical operating tasks. She enjoyed her time at the credit union, but noticed a problem that had arose during the peak of her career.
“While working on the development of the new core loan origination system, I realized that I was spending so much time away from home and my kids. I missed them so much and they were so very patient and understanding during that crucial project period. My 7 year old daughter would get up at 5:30 am all by herself and she would get dressed so that she could see me off to work. So I set out with a determined mind and heart that I would find a way to be at home more; spending more time with my children while still enjoying a satisfying career.
That’s when I started KB Associates Bookkeeping, LLC. It was as if I was a magnet for other mothers who were like minded. We’d discuss our dreams, visions and goals. We encouraged each other to go after each of them by setting personal attainable goals. My motivation is my desire to be at home with my children. And I promise to grow my business enough to hire and bring other mothers and fathers home too. Our children need us and we need our children.” Kimberly said.
The solution to the problem was a business license, a plan and a few other women with the same mind and heart and it is called KB Associates Bookkeeping, LLC. KB Associates’ mission is to bring mothers and/or fathers home who want to be home, happy with a great career and where they belong.
“I am able to spend more time with my kids. They are happier, I am happier and I love my new career as full time bookkeeper,” Kimberly said. The kids she is referring to are her two children, Niko, age 4 and Kaleb, age 7.
KB Associates has five associates who are all mothers and all operate from home. Just like the other women who work with numbers, Kimberly has fit her passions and priorities together, just like a budget.
“Putting numbers together and making them work is like putting together a beautiful puzzle. You can’t stop until it’s finished,” Kimberly said. The KB Associates office will be in the Business Center at the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce on the corner of Plum and Legion Way in Olympia, WA in October, 2010. Stop by and visit!
