Carolina Aponte is a seasoned professional with more than 25 years of experience serving clients both large and small. As the CEO of Caja Holdings, Carolina divides her time between business development, client services, consulting, and analysis. In a span of 9 years, Carolina has grown Caja Holdings’ revenue year over year. Her business provides outsource bookkeeping and fractional CFO services to multi-million-dollar companies, law firms, and diverse small businesses including local CPA firms and Non-profit organizations.

Carolina began her accounting career working on manual ledgers for a Miami law firm. She graduated from Nova Southeastern University with a degree in Business Management. Afterward, she climbed the corporate ladder at a thriving accounting software company until she moved to North Carolina with her family. There, she used her extensive understanding of tax code, accounting, and business management to start a boutique consulting firm to provide clients practical and effective internal accounting and tax-reporting solutions.

She holds a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Entrepreneurship certificate. Carolina is the recipient of the Latin American Businesswoman 2012 Award in Charlotte, NC, and the 2017 NAWBO Charlotte Rising Star Award. Also, a recipient of The Mecklenburg Times 2019 Phenoms honoree and 2020 50 Most Influential Women in the Charlotte region. She is also 2020-2021 President of the National Association of Women Business Owners Charlotte and a 2019-2020 Woman Business Owner of the year finalist.

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I am a Venezuelan immigrant. I spent my formative years living on a small island in the Caribbean and moved to the United States for the first time at age 13. I attended high school learned English and adjusted to life in America until I had to return to my home country, it would be a number of years before I was able to return back to Miami, Fl at the age of 20 on my own and without a formal education. I managed to land my first job in a professional environment and then put myself through school to earn my bachelor’s degree, to eventually, become the controller for a very successful software company, and then start my own business. 

What inspired you to start your business? 

I began working as an accounting manager for a couple of local businesses, including a family-owned, multi-location, $50 million per year in gross revenue that desperately needed their accounting department restructured. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I took the opportunity head on to automate and streamline processes. In fact, after a few years, I did such a great job that I worked myself out of the job and they let me go! That was the “aha” moment in my career. It was then I decided I was going to become an entrepreneur. 

Where is your business based? 

My office is in Indian Trail, NC a rapidly growing suburb approximately 10 miles southeast of Charlotte in Union County. However, we are 100% Virtual, serving clients in a number of States. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took? 

The idea for my business model came from the recurring theme of the jobs I had held over the past 25 years. From Accounts Payable Clerk, Accounting Controller, to Accounting Software Trainer and Technical Support, every job I have ever had involved either “cleaning up” what someone left behind, organizing or training staff, and analyzing financial statements for conversion accuracy. Because of the patterns, I saw I figured that instead of doing all of those tasks for a single employer, I would do them for many small businesses to help them achieve their goals. Without a solid network to depend on as I started my business, I went to SCORE and found a mentor who was kind and wise to guide me in the right direction. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

Networking, networking, networking! You have to build your connections in all areas of business. A strong professional network can have such a positive impact on your business, and when done well, networking will give you a competitive edge.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 

Delegating! When you work for others in a management position, you have a team to delegate to but when you are your own boss, especially at the start of your business, it becomes terribly hard to ‘let go’. Once I understood that in order to scale my business I needed to spend my time in business development, I made my first hire. 

How do you stay focused? 

This is probably one of the most difficult things to accomplish as an entrepreneur. We tend to wear many hats, including putting out fires at times, making it hard to focus but I have learned to use my calendar to block time both business and personal. I also meditate in the mornings to have clarity of mind and stay focus.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition? 

There are thousands of accountants, there are several specializations and more businesses need our services now more than ever, our competitive edge: solutions-driven services. We do what other firms fear the most: communicate with our clients at every step of the engagement!

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

Referrals are, by far, the best way to get business because they come to you with little effort and most notably, they are pre-sold. You don’t have to do much at all to convince a referral to do business with you. My business development time is spent with referral sources, building those relationships has been the key to our success.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Know this, when you are starting out as an entrepreneur, you will inevitably make mistakes. It is ok, just make sure to build your support system. Developing professional and social contacts is essential. It will help you spread awareness about your company, and possibly find benefactors, mentors, and valuable assets.   

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app: ‘Lastpass’ it is installed on my computer, laptop, and cell phone and I do not have to remember a single password, beautiful! I am an avid reader which means I have a book or two at a time, right now my favorite is "How Much Does It Cost To Make a Donut?" by a fellow accountant and friend Cassmer Ward, it provides accounting knowledge in a series of entrepreneurial stories. I highly recommend it to anyone considering entrepreneurship. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why? 

Microsoft’s ‘Onenote’ allows me to keep all sorts of information, find it quickly, and even dictate notes. It is efficiency at its best.

Who is your business role model? Why?

 Michelle Obama is one of the most powerful women in the world and uses it to help change our nation for the better by focusing on initiatives I admire, especially for women to receive education around the globe. She is a great mom, an accomplished lawyer, and a writer, plus she’s married to some powerful and inspiring guy.

How do you balance work and life? 

I am not sure there is such a thing but what I do know is that you do have to play to your strengths, and you must manage your time, scheduling both business and personal time sets clear boundaries. And let’s not forget to block "me time" to decompress and recharge.

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

I have a couple of ways to decompress, one is to read. As I mentioned before, I am an avid reader. It disconnects me from the world while I learn or amuse myself. The other way is to go on my indoor hammock with a glass of wine while I listen to my favorite playlist.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

There are several projects underway that will keep me busy and energized. Workshops and online courses based on my book “Pave Your Own Way: 13 Skills To Create Your Professional Success.”

How can our readers connect with you? 

The easiest way to connect is through my website: www.carolinaaponte.com or Facebook or Instagram social media @Thecarolinaaponte