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Brand Building: They built the largest Black-owned tax preparation service in the U.S., scaling to 1,000+ virtual locations.

9 Jun 2026 · 27 min

Episode Brand Building: They built the largest Black-owned tax preparation service in the U.S., scaling to 1,000+ virtual locations.

0:00 26:53

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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Cherina & Mowbray Rowand.

🔷 Interview Summary

Cherina and Mowbray Rowand—co-founders of the Rowand Group and creators of One Stop Taxes—share how they built the largest Black-owned tax preparation service in the U.S., scaling to 1,000+ virtual locations.

They discuss:

• Their entrepreneurial philosophy • Their complementary roles as partners • The transition from brick-and-mortar to a virtual franchise model • Scaling strategies, team building, and infrastructure • Wealth-building through diversification (restaurants, real estate, hospitality) • Their creation of the Black Tax Festival to educate and unify entrepreneurs

The conversation blends practical business strategy, mindset, and community impact.

🎯 Purpose of the Interview

The interview serves several key purposes:

1. Educate aspiring entrepreneurs

• Demonstrates how to start, scale, and systematize a service business • Highlights real-world lessons in scaling, hiring, and structuring companies

2. Promote economic empowerment

• Focuses on helping underserved communities access:

• Entrepreneurship • Tax knowledge • Financial systems

3. Showcase a scalable business model

• Emphasizes low-barrier entry franchising and virtual platforms

4. Inspire through lived experience

• Shows how vision, persistence, and partnership can create generational wealth

🔑 Key Takeaways 1. Entrepreneurship = Service + Ownership

• Entrepreneurship is framed as serving people first, then building a business around that service

2. Complementary partnership is critical

• Mowbray = visionary (ideas) • Cherina = implementer (execution systems) • Their success comes from balancing vision with structure

3. Scaling requires evolving your team

• What works at $1M won’t work at $10M+ • Businesses must upgrade:

• Attorneys • CPAs • Systems

4. Systems > hustle

• They scaled by creating a repeatable system and training others • Their franchise model enables others to replicate success

5. Virtual model unlocked growth

• Eliminating physical offices reduced cost and increased reach • Their early adoption of virtual tax prep became a major advantage

6. Timing + vision = breakthrough

• They launched virtual tools before mainstream trust in digital transactions • COVID accelerated their already-built infrastructure

7. Lowering barriers drives scale

• No startup cost, free training, and back-end revenue sharing allowed rapid adoption

8. Marketing starts with relationships

• Begin with:

• Warm network • Strategic partnerships (car dealerships, apartments, etc.)

9. Financial literacy is a wealth gateway

• Many entrepreneurs lack:

• Proper documentation • Financial systems

• Their platform and events aim to fix that gap

10. Community + recognition drive engagement

• The Black Tax Festival builds community, education, and motivation • Recognition (awards, visibility) encourages performance

11.…

Links in the notes 5

The episode on the publisher’s site (opens in a new tab)

Transcript

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