In Business Since 1977….(sort of)

“How long have you been in business?  When did you start?”  These are common questions to ask because the history of a business is important.  We must know that the places we frequent have been around the block- have stood the test of time.  As my uncle Eddie used to say, “It helps to have some grey in your hair- then people begin to listen to you”.  Likewise, it’s good for a business to have some grey in its hair.  That means experience- experience means we can count on them.  How much grey does Portland Payroll have?  If you ask the Oregon Corporate Division, you will see that we started in December, 2005.  Not exactly grey.  But actually we’ve been in business since 1977…well sort of.  That’s the summer my dad gave me my first job, in the office of Suburban Door Company, a company he started six years earlier.  Dad must have been busy with other things that summer because he gave me the responsibility of paying 15 employees every Friday.  The lessons he taught me that summer, and for the next 6 summers, have stayed with me for life.  I fell in love with payroll!  I couldn’t wait for Friday’s, because that’s the day I got to do the payroll!  And so, Portland Payroll was born.  Born in the mind of a 14 year-old.  A love affair that continues on for over 30 years.  For 30 years since the summer of 1977 I have been doing payroll.  7 years of working summers at the door shop doing payroll.  15 years working for small, local CPA firms adding payroll reports and W-2’s to my tool box.  Always, involved in payroll.  In 2000 I started my own CPA firm and ran it for 5 years until the payroll bug caught up with me.  I told my sister, my business partner, that I wanted to start a payroll company.  So in December, 2005, Portland Payroll was launched.   The official launching.  But unofficially, it was launched in the summer of ’77.  A hot, dry summer in a dirty dingy office.  But the payroll bug was caught and I can’t shake it.  Do you love payroll?  Does payroll crank your engine?  Probably not.  But I love numbers.  And I love payroll.  Most importantly, I love doing payroll for your workers.  Now I am surrounded by a cast of characters who love doing payroll too!! Don’t let the Corporate Division fool you.  Portland Payroll is grey. 

Kevin Ohanesian CPA, President