Meet Mireya Samuels, MBA | CEO & Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mireya Samuels, MBA and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mireya, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?

I believe in myself and trust in my ability to succeed in all that I do. I am confident! I am focused! I am unstoppable! Be great!

This is my favorite affirmation as it not only builds confidence from within, but it also sets a positive precedence for the day. I currently say this affirmation with my 8 year old son every morning and now everyday before he gets on the school bus, he tells me to “be great today, mom.”

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am originally from Wichita, Kansas. I moved to Dallas in 2008, after I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from a private school in Kansas called Friends University. Wichita is a small city with limited opportunity, so I knew I would have to leave in order to grow and excel in my career. The economy was horrible when I graduated so job opportunities in Wichita were even more scarce, so I did a little research and decided that Dallas would be a great option. I was within driving distance (4 1/5 hours) from home. I also knew Dallas housed numerous corporations so there were countless job opportunities even with the crumbling economy in 2008. I moved to Dallas with no family and 1 person I knew who currently lived here and decided to start my career. Easier said than done. 

My job hunt was difficult. I was fresh out of college with no accounting experience. I ended up taking a job as a specialized AP clerk processing commissions. It was not my passion or honestly what I really wanted to do but it was steady income coming in. For 2 years I applied at countless companies for a full-cycle accountant role and door after door was shut because I was told I had no accounting experience. I started to feel defeated. I started to ask myself what could I do to make myself more valuable? What could I do to gain experience, network along with help people along the way? Start my own business.

So I started taking tax preparation courses. I figured this would not only help add an additional skill set, but I could increase my income along with helping others by providing them a service. So in 2011 I started Samlin Premier Taxes. Samlin is a combination of my father’s last name and my mother’s maiden name. I started to build my clientele. I charged little to nothing, but I wanted to be able to offer people an affordable service along with gaining experience on my end. I enjoyed the tax season.

As the years went on I continued to excel in my professional career along with my business. I went from processing commissions right out of college, to finally becoming an Accountant, then a Sr. Accountant, and currently an Operations Manager. All while continuing to maintain my tax business. It was not easy as I worked full-time, was a full-time mother, and I was working on my MBA in Accountancy, which I completed in 2017 with a 3.8 GPA.  Honestly looking back, I think I was able to get through it all because of my faith and my willingness to not give up.

When Covid hit, I witnessed countless people close to me become unemployed. I wanted to find a way to help. This is when I started to brainstorm ideas as to how I could help. I researched recession proof businesses. I decided, why not offer not only tax preparation but also additional services such as bookkeeping, payroll, and mobile notary. As the company grows, I would be able to offer career opportunities to others. Maybe someone was laid off due to the recession or maybe someone has a similar story to myself where they just needed a chance to gain some experience straight out of college in order to start their career. The services in itself are geared to help assist individuals and businesses. Taking these task off of a business’ plate, allows them to use that spare time to focus on other pressing aspects of their business. In turn, I love to help people and that is what I want the focus of Samlin Premier Financial Services to exude.

Samlin Premier currently provides tax preparations services, bookkeeping services, payroll services, business structuring services, and notary public services to individuals and small to midsize businesses.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My bestie and I would probably kick our trip off with the Wine Hike at Legacy West. I enjoy the scene and crowd. My favorite part is the live up and coming musicians that set up at every corner. After the wine hike we would probably end up at a restaurant in the area such as Earl’s Kitchen or the sushi spot KAI. I think anywhere that provides food and live music is a win for us!

I enjoy The Star and Grandscape as well. I would go to The Puttey for some adult miniature golf then walk over to Andretti’s for some go karting. 

When the weather’s nice I enjoy taking my son to Klyde Warren park downtown. We love the food trucks. Sometimes they have concerts on the lawn in the evenings that are so much fun!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My son for teaching me never to give up because someone is always watching, and my Mentor/Friend Aileen Peasant, owner of Nxtgen Tax & Financial Services, for instilling the confidence, support and motivation to step out on faith and follow my dreams.

Website: samlinpremier.com

Instagram: samlin_premier

Image Credits
Terica Bowser info@tericabphoto.com