Dawn owns Supporting Strategies, which provides outsourced bookkeeping services and operational support to growing businesses. See what led her to owning her own business with her husband.
Q: What is Supporting Strategies?
A: Supporting Strategies was founded in 2004 by Leslie Jorgensen with one goal in mind: give clients the support they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. We provide efficient and effective bookkeeping and operational services to companies ranging in size from start-up to lower middle market businesses that do not require a full-time in-house resource. Seeing the need for these services nationwide, Supporting Strategies started expanding in 2013 through a franchise model.
Q: What led you to the business and finance profession?
A: Since my first typing class in junior high I have loved business! I use to dream about having my own company. Then life happened. I started working full time, got married, had children and got caught up the in day-to-day life in corporate America. When the opportunity came for me to leave the corporate world, after 29 years, I was able to explore the possibility of buying a franchise. There were two main reasons that led me to the profession. One, I understand that we provide services that every small business owner needs and two, because of my husband’s accounting background it made it the perfect company for us to run together.
Q: Congratulations, Supporting Strategies-Chicago Far West Suburbs earned 2016 Best of Naperville Award for Bookkeeping Services. What do you believe makes Supporting Strategies the Best?
A: Great customer service is a huge part of it. We understand how important it is for each business owner to realize their dreams and we do what we can to help them achieve them. Our staff consists of highly experienced accounting professionals who use automated processes to create a more efficient workflow. Our standardized procedures allow us to deliver affordable, accurate and reliable services.
Q: What advice would you give for other women in business?
A: Don’t be too proud to ask for help. You can’t know or do everything yourself.
Q: What is your involvement in the Chamber and community?
A: The first event I attended as a business owner was a Chamber After Hours, joining shortly after. It’s been a great place to meet people and become more involved in the community. We’ve lived in Naperville for over 20 years, raising two children here and doing what we can to support the schools and local businesses.
Q: Tell us about working with your husband?
A: Working with my husband, Elliot, is great. We both have different areas of expertise and stay in our own lane while doing them. In other words, I don’t tell him how to do accounting and he doesn’t tell me how to do Business Development. We trust each other to do our jobs. At the same time, it’s nice to be able to discuss issues that come up in our respective areas with one another. He’s a fantastic partner, in life and work.
Q: What is one thing most people don't know about you?
A: Most people don’t know that I started working in the corporate world when I was 19. I didn’t go to college until I was working full-time and married. First, I received an Associate degree from the College of DuPage then went on to earn my Bachelor in Business Management from Northwood University.
Other facts about you . . .
I was born and raised in Ohio and moved to Naperville three months after graduating from high school. Elliot and I have been married for 27 years. We have two daughters, Rachel 21 and Abby 19 and a rescued black lab named Gabe, 9 ½.
By Robin Boggs Choquette, Psy.D. Elite Performance Counseling
Elite Performance Counseling provides psychological services to individuals from preteen through older adulthood in individual psychotherapy, family therapy (including parenting strategies), couple’s therapy, and skill seminars. In addition, she consults with a specialized emphasis on performance enhancement for athletes, artists, musicians, entertainers and executives.
Photo by: Sabina Cavalli Photography, a boutique studio in south Naperville that specializes in creating photographic art with you or your favorite people in it. Sabina is a Certified Professional Photographer, has her Masters of Photography Degree and has received top accolades including the Top 10 Imager in Illinois by the North Central District of the Professional Photographer of America (PPA) and National Bronze Photographer of the Year by the PPA. She teaches lighting and posing techniques at PPA affiliates in the Midwest. Please visit her website at www.sabinacavalli.com or call 630-699-2072 for a visit to her studio.
Q: What is Supporting Strategies?
A: Supporting Strategies was founded in 2004 by Leslie Jorgensen with one goal in mind: give clients the support they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. We provide efficient and effective bookkeeping and operational services to companies ranging in size from start-up to lower middle market businesses that do not require a full-time in-house resource. Seeing the need for these services nationwide, Supporting Strategies started expanding in 2013 through a franchise model.
Q: What led you to the business and finance profession?
A: Since my first typing class in junior high I have loved business! I use to dream about having my own company. Then life happened. I started working full time, got married, had children and got caught up the in day-to-day life in corporate America. When the opportunity came for me to leave the corporate world, after 29 years, I was able to explore the possibility of buying a franchise. There were two main reasons that led me to the profession. One, I understand that we provide services that every small business owner needs and two, because of my husband’s accounting background it made it the perfect company for us to run together.
Q: Congratulations, Supporting Strategies-Chicago Far West Suburbs earned 2016 Best of Naperville Award for Bookkeeping Services. What do you believe makes Supporting Strategies the Best?
A: Great customer service is a huge part of it. We understand how important it is for each business owner to realize their dreams and we do what we can to help them achieve them. Our staff consists of highly experienced accounting professionals who use automated processes to create a more efficient workflow. Our standardized procedures allow us to deliver affordable, accurate and reliable services.
Q: What advice would you give for other women in business?
A: Don’t be too proud to ask for help. You can’t know or do everything yourself.
Q: What is your involvement in the Chamber and community?
A: The first event I attended as a business owner was a Chamber After Hours, joining shortly after. It’s been a great place to meet people and become more involved in the community. We’ve lived in Naperville for over 20 years, raising two children here and doing what we can to support the schools and local businesses.
Q: Tell us about working with your husband?
A: Working with my husband, Elliot, is great. We both have different areas of expertise and stay in our own lane while doing them. In other words, I don’t tell him how to do accounting and he doesn’t tell me how to do Business Development. We trust each other to do our jobs. At the same time, it’s nice to be able to discuss issues that come up in our respective areas with one another. He’s a fantastic partner, in life and work.
Q: What is one thing most people don't know about you?
A: Most people don’t know that I started working in the corporate world when I was 19. I didn’t go to college until I was working full-time and married. First, I received an Associate degree from the College of DuPage then went on to earn my Bachelor in Business Management from Northwood University.
Other facts about you . . .
I was born and raised in Ohio and moved to Naperville three months after graduating from high school. Elliot and I have been married for 27 years. We have two daughters, Rachel 21 and Abby 19 and a rescued black lab named Gabe, 9 ½.
By Robin Boggs Choquette, Psy.D. Elite Performance Counseling
Elite Performance Counseling provides psychological services to individuals from preteen through older adulthood in individual psychotherapy, family therapy (including parenting strategies), couple’s therapy, and skill seminars. In addition, she consults with a specialized emphasis on performance enhancement for athletes, artists, musicians, entertainers and executives.
Photo by: Sabina Cavalli Photography, a boutique studio in south Naperville that specializes in creating photographic art with you or your favorite people in it. Sabina is a Certified Professional Photographer, has her Masters of Photography Degree and has received top accolades including the Top 10 Imager in Illinois by the North Central District of the Professional Photographer of America (PPA) and National Bronze Photographer of the Year by the PPA. She teaches lighting and posing techniques at PPA affiliates in the Midwest. Please visit her website at www.sabinacavalli.com or call 630-699-2072 for a visit to her studio.