Debi Corrie’s interest in helping small businesses is tied to her grandfather, who owned a plumbing company and retired at age 62 owning a shop, his home and a cottage on a lake.
The family learned then that he had rarely filed taxes, saved nothing for retirement and had very minimal Social Security because of that lack of tax filings. He grew up during the Depression and assumed he would be dead by age 65. Instead, he lived into his 80s and lost everything he owned, becoming a ward of the state on Medicaid.
Motivated to prevent more stories like her grandfather’s, Corrie supports small business owners with their taxes and finances in her role as CEO of Acumaxum LLC. The company is a boutique financial strategy firm that helps business owners build their business financial road map and implement it.
“She saw so many owners hurt by poor tax planning that [she] also wanted to include taxes and tax planning in her services,” Corrie’s team said. “She created a new entity and branding to provide these new services to business owners. In the past two years she has tripled her business, having a positive impact on the business owners that she works with to help them create financial security.”
Acumaxum has a team of six and is looking to double that number in the coming year. Long term, the goal is for the company to be in locations around the U.S.
“We believe small business is the heart and soul of the United States,” Corrie’s team said. “These business owners affect the lives of their employees and the success of their communities. We want to help them be successful to create thriving communities across the United States.”
In addition to her corporate leadership, Corrie has entrepreneurial chops. In 2013, Corrie and her partner Kristene Rosser formed Taxpertise LLP. The tax firm was only supposed to be a “vacation fund” business, but it went on to become one of three growing businesses that Corrie would operate. In August 2016, she became a partner at B2B CFO, providing business owners with CFO strategy services. In 2020, Corrie wrote “Loving Failure: Getting Control of Your Business Health” — an international bestseller and the impetus for her third company: DJC Media.
“The most important risk I took was leaving my W-2 job to start my entrepreneur journey,” Corrie said. “It was knowing that I would be responsible for my own success. I wanted to be able to help several business owners at once, not just one company at a time. Becoming a business owner was not the same as being a successful C-suite executive. As a finance person and a recovering perfectionist, I learned that making quick decisions and taking action were more important than perfection.”
