Burned out from a traditional corporate career that demanded 14-hour days and a lack of growth opportunities, Abby Dunn gambled on herself and start her own business. As the owner of Stoneroot Consulting, specializing in providing accounting and finance services to small and mid-size real estate and construction companies, she’s created a rewarding, challenging, and motivational career for herself.
Stoneroot’s mission is to help real estate and construction companies grow by improving accounting and finance processes in alignment with their corporate strategies. It’s a specialty that she’s honed over time by combining her background in accounting and real estate with her drive to help businesses elevate and grow.
Background
Abby first started working in accounting after graduating from Kent State University. She spent five years in the corporate arena before leaving to try something new: real estate. As a real estate agent, she loved working for herself, but something was still missing. So she started picking up side hustles and projects that made her realize how much she missed using her true strengths in accounting, business management, and technology. She made her side hustle official by founding Stoneroot Consulting and feels that she’s finally found that perfect fit between accounting and real estate.
Advice
Being a business owner may not always be easy, but Abby’s advice to those considering going out on their own is this, “ The start-up can definitely be rocky but stick with it and it’s ok if it’s not perfect. You also don’t have to know the end goal, as I started my business and grew my ideal client changed until I found my niche.”
Abby loves the flexibility and control that she has as a business owner. She’s past working 14-hour days for someone else and creates a schedule that works for herself and her family of four. “I get to make my own schedule which compliments my husband’s schedule and I get to see our girls in the morning and every afternoon. I also feel so accomplished. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to make it on your own,” Abby says.
Future
During the pandemic, she pushed herself to continue to expand and not to be complacent. She says that COVID and her kids were the impetus to identify her perfect clientele. In the future, she hopes to be a known consultant and trusted advisor in the local real estate and construction industry, in turn allowing Stoneroot Consulting to grow and provide for her family.
Stoneroot is growing right now. Abby has started providing additional services for her clients, including real estate marketing and technology services, which current clients have expressed great interest in.
Connect
When Abby isn’t in the office, you can find her enjoying time with her family, outside, at the zoo, or exploring a local park or farmers market.
To connect with Abby Dunn and Stoneroot Consulting, visit her website. You can also join Abby at Haven Collective to cowork with her and connect with even more amazing members of the Haven Community. Learn more about Haven Collective membership here.
Take the leap! I love the flexibility of working remotely but working from home is tough with kids, a dog and so much laundry staring at me. Getting out to Haven has made me so much more productive.